Several governments have focused on marine plastic pollution. Implementing and monitoring a global agreement requires concrete commitments, technical and financial support, national, regional, and international transparency and data sharing, and strengthening action by organizations and/or individuals, as well as coordination with existing treaties. Reducing virgin plastic production and consumption (Goal 1: Reduce); facilitating a circular plastic economy based on waste hierarchy principles (Goal 2: Reuse – Repair – Recycle); and reducing plastic pollution are among the goals of an international agreement. Reducing plastic pollution requires regular reporting. Monitoring and analyzing plastic pollution is crucial to ensuring reduction strategies are effective (Walker et al., 2021). It’s important to monitor and assess plastic pollution locally, nationally, and regionally. Global agreements are possible if they involve industry, governments, stakeholders, and citizens, yet most negotiations take at least two years and realistically implementation much longer. Any convention usually takes around eight to ten years, especially because countries’ legal systems need to be harmonized. The review article concludes in the hope that negotiations at UNEA 5.2 will kickstart a new global plastic pollution agreement.
This policy brief provides arguments on and insights into why and how plastic chemicals and polymers of concern should be integrated in the global plastics treaty. The document is an output of the Scientists’ Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty (SCEPT working group on chemicals, polymers and products) and aims at policymakers involved in the Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee[…]
The paper provides new insights into marine environments and human activities and suggests plastic waste should be controlled through laws that regulate waste sources and plastic additives in order to solve the problem of plastic accumulation in the oceans.
The paper strengthens the evidence that microplastics are present in the studied biota, suggesting that they are transferred between trophic levels through the interconnected food chain/web. The presence of micro plastics in fish guts highlights the need for further research on processing interventions for reducing microplastic contamination.
PPE (face masks and gloves) were surveyed at six Indian beaches. There were 496 PPE counted with an average density of 1.08 × 10−3 PPE m−2. Previous studies found similar PPE density. Face masks accounted for 98.39% of all PPE recorded, while gloves accounted for only 1.61%. As a result of the increase in vaccination[…]
The research seeks to depict and reduce marine plastic pollution in India. A GIS map has been created to show plastic input from different river basins. In order to address the challenges of marine litter in India, a guiding model has been developed. According to the predictive model, India produces 536 thousand tons of municipal[…]