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Marine Litter
Vital Graphics
Manufacturing 1 National law Sub-national law Use at retail level 2 National law Sub-national law Countries prohibiting or disincentivizing land-based materials causing marine litter 1 Includes one or more of the following categories: nurdles or pre-production plastic, plastic bags and microbeads in personal care products 2 Includes one or more of the following categories: plastic bag laws; laws governing the thickness of plastic bags; bans on stirrers,utensils and cups; taxes or levies on plastic bags; bans on so-called "biodegradable" plastics; bans on polystyrene, mandating "re-usable" products such as beverage containers and shopping bags; cigarette bans on beaches What countries are doing to combat litter Source: UNEP Marine Litter Legislation: A Toolkit for Policymakers, document in preparation, 2016; The Independent, The Guardian, National Geographic press review Manufacturing 1 National law Sub-national law Use at retail level 2 National law Sub-national law Countries prohibiting or disincentivizing land-based materials causing marine litter 1 Includes one r more of the following categories: nurdles or pre-production plastic, plastic bags and microbeads in personal care products 2 In lude ne or more of the following categories: plastic bag laws; laws g verning the thicknes f plastic bags; b ns on stirrers,utensils a d cups; tax s or levies on plastic bags; bans on so- alled "biode radable" plastics; bans o polystyrene, mandating "r -usable" products such as beverage containers and shopping bags; cigarette bans on beaches hat countries are doing to co bat litter Source: UNEP Marine Litter L gislation: A Toolkit for Policymakers, document in preparation, 2016; The Independent, The Guardian, National Geographic press reviewwhich sectors and products they target, and the location
and scale of the marine litter being addressed. While there
are still data gaps it is expected that the cost of action is
significantly less than the cost of inaction.
It is in the interests of many economic sectors to find
strategies to reduce marine litter because this can help to
reduce the cost to them. The benefits of action are not just
about avoiding the problems arising from inaction, but also
about new opportunities – for the economy and society.
In some cases, significant value can be generated from
recycling marine litter into new products or “upcycling”
(UNEP, 2016c). The Kenyan-based Ocean Sole creates 220
different products from recovered flip-flops and sells up to
500,000 dollarsworth of products each year. Through the Net-
Works programme, the world’s largest carpet tile producer,
Interface, and its material partner Aquafil, reprocess
discarded and abandoned fishing nets from the Philippines
into carpet products which are used in buildings around the
world. Through its Net+Positiva programme, Bureo turns
collected fishing nets into skateboards that retail at 149
dollars and sunglasses that retail at 129 dollars. Over 3,000
skateboards have been sold to date. Items in the RAW for the
Oceans fashion range by G-Star Raw and Bionic Yarn, which
contain yarn made from PET bottles recovered from the
oceans, retail for as much as 300 dollars.
litter is tackled closer to its source). Engaging volunteers
in clean-up activities can help reduce costs (although the
time of volunteers also has an economic value), contribute
to citizen science and improve awareness.
Fishing for litter can also be a useful final option, but can
only address certain types of litter. This could be combined
with economic incentives to encourage action, such as
payments to fishermen for the litter they collect.
The fact that marine debris and microplastics constitute
a complex environmental challenge also poses an
opportunity when it comes to tackling it. Before choosing
an instrument or a package of instruments, it is crucial to
assess whether it will work within a country’s legislative,
institutional and cultural context. This assessment will
help in determining the likelihood of implementation,
who will be involved, what the costs will be, who they
will fall to, the expected effectiveness and impacts
over what timescale, the potential perverse incentives
that may undermine effectiveness or efficiency, and
the environmental, social and economic benefits and
costs of action.
The cost of action
The costs of action will vary depending on where in the
value chain and on what waste the measures are focused,
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