MARLIN - BALTIC MARINE LITTER LITTER MONITORING AND RAISING AWARENESS

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1 MARLIN - BALTIC MARINE LITTER LITTER MONITORING AND RAISING AWARENESS

2 WELCOME! SWEDEN FINLAND A SEA SWEEP ESTONIA Keep Sweden Tidy Foundation CEO Anna Linusson Marine litter is one of the biggest environmental threats in our seas. In the Baltic Sea, marine litter has not been considered a major problem. Having worked with environmental issues for more than twenty years, I was surprised to find that so little was known. Litter is a very visual and tangible environmental problem but a couple of years ago nothing had been done to understand the amounts or sources of marine litter in the Baltic Sea. Marine litter is carried over the seas and causes numerous problems. Marine life gets caught up in it or mistakes it for food. The majority of marine litter is plastic which contains harmful substances and hazardous additives. Slowly it degrades into smaller and smaller pieces and eventually enters the food chain. Millions of tonnes of waste are dumped into the sea each year where it stays and accumulates over decades. Today we find huge amounts of plastic all over the world, also in the Baltic Sea. The EU member states now have a real opportunity to set goals and initiatives to reduce marine litter. The Marine Strategy Framework Directive identifies marine litter as one indicator to describe and achieve for a good environmental status in our European Seas by the year This directive gives us a common platform and opportunity to reduce the increasing amounts of litter and plastic in the Baltic Sea. We must have the courage to set goals and reduction targets. Results from the MARLIN project is a good starting point! MARINE LITTER IN OUR BALTIC SEA LATVIA The Baltic Sea is an enclosed sea. With 85 on amounts, trends and possible sources. million people, 15 major coastal cities, 10 Keep Sweden Tidy, Keep the Archipelago Tidy, rivers, 2000 vessels constantly on move Keep the Estonian Sea Tidy and FEE Latvia across the sea and a developing coastal have together built a monitoring network. tourism we have all reasons to believe that Today 25 beaches are included in the program. litter and waste from various human activities ends up in the sea. Probably the most important way to come to terms with litter and littering is to change Prevention, reduction and control actions people s attitudes and behaviour. By combining on marine litter in the Baltic Sea have so far the monitoring results with actions for raising been scarce, based on different assessment awareness, the MARLIN project strives to put methods and yielded incomparable results and marine litter on the daily agenda among the no known reductions in marine litter. Therefore, public and the policy makers. the Keep Sweden Tidy Foundation initiated the Baltic Marine Litter project MARLIN, a The project is partly financed by the Central project that approaches marine litter with a Baltic Interreg IVA Programme. harmonised monitoring method developed by Partners: UNEP/Regional Seas. Beach litter is believed to count for only 15 percent of the total amount of litter out in the sea. But by monitoring the litter on our shores we get valuable information Project time:

3 3 10 m Max 1000 m m BEACH LITTER MONITORING: WE CAN T MANAGE WHAT WE DON T MEASURE Beach litter monitoring can be performed by any authority, municipality, land owner, school class or NGO. By using the same method many actors can jointly build up a common knowledge base and the results can be used on both a local and international level. With more knowledge we can identify trends and suggest actions to reduce litter and littering. Cigarettes, snuff & other small litter Litter objects approx. 2,5cm-50 cm (also include area 1) 2 Note! No cigarettes or snuff Litter is monitored in three areas and the UNEP protocols are used. Litter objects >50 cm (also include area 1&2) 3 If you are interested please contact project MARLIN in your country to go through the preparations and planning! We will help you with how to choose a proper beach and how to carry out the monitoring. All data should then be reported to the MARLIN marine litter data base. The measuring areas are set up. All items of litter that exist within each measurement area are counted, gathered and categorised according to material and litter type.

4 BEACH LITTER MONITORING: RESULTS FROM 25 BALTIC SEA BEACHES Proportion of litter materials found: Plastic 55% Glass and ceramics 10% Paper and cardboard 8% Metal 8% Foamed plastic 7% Wood 4% Cloth 3% Organic 2% Other 2% The top ten litter items found on the beach 1. Plastic - unidentified pieces 26,5% This is unidentified pieces of broken down plastic products. Plastic doesn t disappear, but breaks down to smaller and smaller fractions which can persist for hundreds of years. 2. Glass and ceramics fragments 6,8% 3. Plastic bottle caps and lids 5,5% 4. Foamed plastic from insulation and packaging 5,5% 5. Plastic bags 5,0% 6. Plastic food containers and candy wrappers 3,9% 7. Metal bottle caps, lids and pull tabs 2,9% 8. Paper cups, food trays, food wrappers, cigarette packs and drink containers 2,7% 9. Plastic knives, forks, spoons, straws and stirrers 2,6% 10. Plastic rope 2,5% Cigarette butts and snuff bags are not included. Average litter per 100 m Spring Summer Autumn Spring Summer Rubber 1% Cigarette butts and snuff bags are not included. Seasonal litter trends Litter increases during spring due to accumulation from the sea and littering in combination with lack of cleaning activities. During the summer the litter decreases due to cleaning activities. More people equals more litter The beaches in the MARLIN project is divided into three categories urban, peri-urban and rural. The average amount of litter is highest at the urban beach, which suggests that beaches with many visitors also is a source for marine littering Average litter per 100 m 210,2 83,8 77,5 Peri-urban Rural Urban

5 Plastic waste has also increased dramatically. In 2008, 25 million tonnes of plastic waste was generated in the EU. Here is how that plastic waste was taken care of. BEACH LITTER MONITORING: PLASTIC EVERYWHERE The major part of marine litter constitutes of plastic. Plastic production has increased dramatically. Recycled 5.3 million tonnes Recovery for e.g. incineration 7.5 million tonnes Land fills 12.1 million tonnes In the long run, millions of tonnes ends up in our oceans, which are slowly turning into plastic waste dumps of the planet. In 1950, 1.5 million tonnes of plastic was produced per year. In 2008, that number has increased to 245 million tonnes per year. Plastic production will continue to increase and is going up with GDP. 735 million tonnes of plastic are predicted to be produced in MILLION TONNES 245 MILLION TONNES 735 MILLION TONNES? Poor waste management, littering on land and low plastic waste recovery rates are closely linked to the problem of plastic marine pollution. Over 50 percent of the marine litter in the Baltic Sea is plastic. When plastic ends up in the marine environment it stays there for hundreds of years. This is now one of the most important emerging global environmental issues Plastic production per year Source: GREEN PAPER On a European Strategy on Plastic Waste in the Environment

6 RAISING AWARENESS: PHOTO EXHIBITION Three clean-up activities were held by Keep the Archipelago Tidy in Finnish marinas early autumn Local divers collected sea-bed litter and brought it ashore. Photographer Anna Liukas created an exhibition with photos of the litter found on the sea-bed including bicycles, mobile phones, road signs and car batteries. Finland The exhibition has been on tour in Finland, Sweden and Estonia during RAISING AWARENESS: LITTER FREE MARINAS To find out the extent of marine littering in Swedish guest harbours, Keep Sweden Tidy collected litter from sea-beds in marinas together with local divers. Sweden The litter was put on display at the pier, with children s entertainers Vattenmannen & Speed present to comment on the findings. Among the litter found was a boat toilet, a type writer and a glass bottle dated in the year It is clear that nobody takes responsibility for the litter accumulating on the sea floor in our marinas. Changing people s attitudes and behaviours is crucial to come to terms with the problem of littering. Photo: Anna Liukas

7 RAISING AWARENESS: 500 KM BEACH WALK RAISING AWARENESS: FOCUSING ON THE YOUNG FEE Latvia has initiated the public awareness campaign My Baltic Sea, where people are invited to participate in a 500 km long hiking trip around the Latvian Baltic Sea shore. Along the way, the participants experienced activities ranging from marine litter monitoring and seminars with Baltic Sea experts to classical concerts in lighthouses and creative workshops for children. Latvia Estonia Keep the Estonian Sea Tidy has focused throughout the MARLIN project on spreading knowledge of marine littering among families and children. My Baltic Sea has been held for two consecutive years and has gained great media attention. A number of summer activities and seminars were held, including events at the Water Festival in Pärnu, Festival of Coastal Folk in Viimsi and Tallinn Maritime Day. The seminars took place onboard Blue Sirius, Estonia s oldest sailing ship. The beach litter monitoring is mainly carried out by schools, after being trained by Keep the Estonian Sea Tidy.

8 INTERVIEW AIJA BÄCKSTRÖM: LITTER ON THE AGENDA Although the archipelago is cleaner now than when Keep the Archipelago Tidy Association was founded 44 years ago, it seems as people s attitudes are taking a turn for the worse. That s why it s vital that the MARLIN project is succeding in creating public interest. Aija Bäckström from Keep the Archipelago Tidy tells more about it. The MARLIN project has gained a lot of interest from the media, the public and decision makers in Finland, says Aija Bäckström from Keep the Archipelago Tidy. We are contacted by citizens who want to be a part of our beach litter monitorings and the issue is being discussed at a higher level than before. Aija Bäckström describes one of the results of the project. The city of Helsinki was forced to sharpen the supervision of the ongoing metro construction after Keep the Archipelago Tidy reported that large amounts of litter from the construction ended up on one of the beaches being monitored through MARLIN. Not only did the project make a direct impact on society, it also contributed to a larger network of experts on the issue and a deeper understanding of the problem. We are going to focus more on the problem surrounding plastic. Our monitoring results inspired a great short film about plastic in the ocean, a film that is now spreading through Finland and other Nordic countries. A children s activity book and a club for the children created within the project are also very popular. Kids are out picking litter and then get to analyze it and send us the results. Their enthusiasm is impressive! INTERVIEW JAN LUNDQVIST: A CLEANER BEACH A hot summer day at Rullsand means a lot of littering. As a result of litter monitoring during the MARLIN project, the Uppland Foundation decided to buy a beach cleaning machine. Rullsand is one of the beaches monitored by Keep Sweden Tidy during the MARLIN project. The Uppland Foundation owns and operates the campsite at the beach. People tend to leave quite a lot of litter, Jan Lundqvist, CEO of the Uppland Foundation, says. Small plastics like straws, cigarette butts and snuff bags are commonly seen at the end of a sunny day. Keeping the beach tidy used to require two persons for two hours every day. But now the foundation has invested in a special cleaning machine. It was a lot of work picking up all the litter, Jan Lundqvist says. With our new machine, it s enough to clean 2-3 times a week for about an hour. And only one person is needed to do it. Even if cleaning the beach now requires a machine, Jan Lundqvist is pleased with the way it all turned out. Photo: Anders Badner / Upsala Nya Tidning FACTS: Rullsand is a 1.5 kilometre long sandy beach located outside of Gävle and is sometimes referred to as the Riviera of middle Sweden. The Uppland Foundation is the owner and operator of the campsite which is one of the largest in the region with its 230 pitches. The marine litter issue is highlighted in a completely different way since the start of the MARLIN project two years ago. I think much of the littering is unintentional. People drop or forget things. Perhaps some are more careless than others. But I know that our visitors at the beach appreciate the machine besides from cleaning, it also loosens the sand, making it soft and comfortable.

9 PROJECT PARTNERS: Keep Sweden Tidy Keep the Archipelago Tidy Keep the Estonian Sea Tidy FEE Latvia The content of the publication reflects the authors views and the Managing Authority cannot be held liable for the information published by the project partners.