A sea full of plastic

The figures are frankly shocking: 150 million tonnes of plastic are already swimming in our oceans and every year another 12 million tonnes are added to this – 500,000 tonnes alone originating from Europe. This is equivalent to having immense amounts of plastic, enough to fill 180 trucks, being dumped in our waters day by day. Landlocked countries are not excluded from this: for instance, around 40 tonnes of plastic make their way every year from Austria, via the Danube, to the Black Sea.

How does the waste get into our seas?

Around 80 percent of the plastic waste in our waters comes from the land – from microplastics in cosmetics to microfibers from the wastewaters of washing machines to the massive pollution of riverbanks and beaches by plastic products due to wrong disposal in the environment. In addition, many ships simply dispose of their waste in the sea although it is forbidden. All of this has serious consequences for the sea as an ecosystem, for the plants and animals who live there and ultimately for the health of humans as well.

The EU sets an example

According to estimates, the share of plastic products among the waste being found in our oceans and on Europe’s beaches equals around 80 percent. Around half of the plastic products are considered as single-use plastics –bottles, cutlery, take-away cups and hygiene articles, like cotton buds and wet wipes. With the new Single-Use Plastic Directive, the European Union has now taken a strong stance against the causes of this problem. This guidelines aims to reduce the consumption of one-time-use products made of plastic. It pushes for the development of sustainable alternatives to plastic materials and asks for improvements in the waste management. At the same, it is also important that consumers become more involved and better informed about products, the materials they contain and how to dispose of them correctly. To ensure that this strategy will be effective, a change in behaviour and thinking is required not only at the national level, but also by every individual consumer.