Global study: Take-out packaging is most abundant aquatic polluter, producers and consumers share responsibility

14 Jun 2021 --- Take-out food and beverage packaging largely dominates global marine litter, followed by items resulting from fishing activities, according to a recent study.

Ali Tabrizi’s popular Netflix documentary film Seaspiracy recently spotlighted the scourge of plastic fishing gear pollution, suggesting it is the ocean’s top polluter.

According to the new study, fishing-related pollution is the most abundant polluter globally, but only in open waters. Single-use bags, bottles, food containers and wrappers were the four most pervasive macro-litter items (making up 44% of the total items across all aquatic environments).

“Previous research on litter composition has shown us only part of the picture. Now we can see the full image,” lead researcher Carmen Morales-Caselles, from the biology department at the University of Cadiz, Spain, tells PackagingInsights. She also works at the European University of the Seas (SEA-EU) in Puerto Real, Spain.

The research investigated 12 million litter items retrieved from seven major aquatic environments globally: River waters, shorelines, nearshore waters, open waters, riverbeds, nearshore seafloors and deep seafloors. The researchers found 80 percent of the items were made of plastic, followed by metal (7%), glass (5%) and fabric (3%).

The researchers found the largest share of plastic in surface waters (95%), followed by shorelines (83%). Below the surface, the proportion of plastic in total litter increased progressively from 49 percent on riverbeds to 64 percent on nearshore bottoms and 77 percent on deep-sea floors.

The researchers found 80 percent of the items were made of plastic, followed by metal (7%), glass (5%) and fabric (3%).

Bottles, bags and caps made from plastic dominated the top ten litter items across various aquatic environments.

Morales-Caselles highlights many preventive actions to combat marine pollution rely on assumptions, but the Nature Sustainability-published research generates information “needed to design effective prevention policies.”

Joint producer-consumer responsibility
Of the 112 litter categories used in the analysis, ten types of products accounted for three-quarters of all litter items found globally.

In descending order, the top ten products were bags; plastic bottles; food containers and cutlery; wrappers; synthetic ropes; fishing-related items including strings, threads and buoys; plastic caps and lids; industrial packaging; glass bottles; and beverage cans.

“The continuous leakage of plastic and other waste into nature is due to the combination of irresponsible production of throwaway plastic goods, careless behavior by some end-users, and deficiencies in recovery systems,” co-author Andrés Cózar, also from the University of Cadiz and SEA-EU, tells PackagingInsights.

“The responsibility for plastic leakage and other waste in the environment is shared by producers and consumers.”

Notably, plastic bags and plastic bottles were two items appearing most frequently throughout the analysis, the latter particularly ubiquitous on deep seafloors (23%).

Wrappers and packaging were abundant in coastal environments and relatively scarce in the open ocean. Plastic food containers and cutlery were the most-reported items found in river waters and were very common on shorelines.

Macro-litter densities (items m−2) in ocean surface waters, shorelines, shallow (<50 m depth) and deep (>50 m depth) nearshore seafloor, and deep seafloor (>100 m depth).Legislative motivation for industry action
To minimize litter pollution, the researchers advocate for regulatory bans on avoidable take-out plastic products as the preferred management strategy. As of next month, ten single-use plastic items will be banned throughout the EU.

Next April, a £200 (US$264) per ton tax rate will be implemented on plastic packaging with less than 30 percent recycled plastic produced or imported into the UK.

These legislative pushes have spurred industry to develop plastic waste prevention solutions ranging from paper straws to tethered beverage caps and recycled material alternatives.

“The replacement of top polluting plastic items by [alternatives] made of more easily degradable materials should account for all life-cycle impacts of the alternative products, including production, transportation, and disposal,” flags Morales-Caselles.

For those take-out products deemed indispensable, the researchers propose particular enforcement on extended producer responsibility, coupled with a deposit-refund levy to take-out consumers. “Both are justified by the extra risk of leakage of these products to the environment,” adds Cózar.

Top ten litter items in the nearshore seafloor of the seven large world socioeconomic regions.Future research
Estimates based on field measurements predominantly remain limited to surface waters and small plastic sizes. “We must move toward more comprehensive quantitative estimates, including the whole range of sizes and materials that make up marine litter,” says Cózar.

“We must focus efforts on those environments that are now identified as major reservoirs of macro-litter, shores and nearshore seafloors,” he concludes.

By Anni Schleicher

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