Die Europäische Union als Vorreiter in der Bekämpfung der fortschreitenden Kunststoffverschmutzung der Meeresumwelt

The fact that plastic has become more and more of a problem in terms of the pollution of the environment, especially themarine environment has been in the focus of international organisations, politics and the media.Despite the increasing awareness, legally binding instruments have not been adopted so far. The European Union has identified plastic as one of themajor pollutants of themarine environment in the EUand thus included it in its Action plans for a circular economy. Over the last couple of years, the EU adopted several Directives that focus on the prevention of plastic waste. The newest Directive on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment tackles the increasing pollution by identifying the most found plastic items on EU Beaches, which are single-use-plastic-products and consequently regulating them comprehensively. Another focal point of this new Directive is the further regulation of fishing gear that has been left behind or abandoned, sometimes also referred to as “ghost nets”. The Article gives an overview of the problem of marine plastic pollution and observes how the new directive intends to improve the momentary situation.

Autor*innen: Liv Christiansen