The World Plastics Council (WPC) has welcomed a marine litter action plan released by the G20 on 10 July, thanking the states for their commitment to substantially reduce marine litter and its impacts by 2025.
“This urgent issue requires all of us working together and we look forward to further collaboration with G20 member states to solve this global challenge”, said WPC chairman, Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh of SABIC.
In a statement on 10 July, he called for the development of “an integrated and sustainable waste management infrastructure in rapidly emerging economies where such systems are lacking.”
According to the council chairman, investing in waste collection and treatment facilities and promoting access to these infrastructure resources is the most responsible way to help prevent land-based waste from leaking into oceans.
“The global plastics industry is already working with leaders in regions where ocean plastic inputs are highest, to ensure that waste management infrastructure is a priority. We look forward to sharing knowledge and expertise with G20 leadership”, concluded the WPC chairman.
In an action plan released during the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, on 10 July, the group of world's top 20 economies laid out a plan to tackle the increasing marine littering.
The plan reiterated the need to:
- Address pollution from land based sources,
- Address pollution from sea based sources, including key waste items from the fishing and aquaculture industry as well as from the shipping sector,
- Address financial resources for cost-effectiveness analyses as well as measures for marine litter prevention or reduction,
- Put in place effective actions, including the introduction of extended producer responsibility or deposit schemes
- Address education and outreach, and
- Address additional research requirements
Additionally, the action plan called for establishing policies in order to prevent marine litter.