Mining for sea plastic - a new resource

Anna Rosbach

18 April 2013

Industry, the fishing communities, governments and NGOs can work together to tackle waterborne waste, particularly plastic.

Anna Rosbach, MEP and Chairwoman of Waste Free Oceans.

So much sea plastic

I come from Denmark and have watched how our beaches have become more and more polluted. Coming from a family of fishermen I've seen with my own eyes how much waste is being brought to the surface when nets are pulled on board.

Over the years enormous amounts of litter has been dumped into the oceans threatening both human health and the ecosystem, including mammals, birds, and fish. The constant movement of the oceans, both horizontally on the surface and vertically within the water, makes it difficult to develop an accurate picture but the fact remains, that there are huge amounts of plastic on our beaches and in our waters.

As a member of the European Parliament I found it compelling to get engaged in the issue and so I became Chairwoman of Waste Free Oceans. Using fishermen and homegrown technology, we aim to help reduce the floating marine debris in Europe's marinas, coastlines, rivers and lakes.

Plastic washed ashore by winter tides at Chapman's Pool, Dorset. (c) Jenny Penney, Great Dorset Beach Clean & Purbeck Coastal Ranger

Recycling drives growth

Cleaning up our waters not only protects the environment. Recycling is a more efficient use of our resources - it can promote green growth and reduce costs for producers and consumers.

Today we only recycle a limited amount of plastic litter. Different types of plastic have different chemical content, and this means we need to sort the plastic before it can be made into new products. Better technology will allow us to increase the amount of plastic we can recycle.

Co-operation between the plastic industry, recycling companies and fishermen can create a market for plastic litter. Let us turn plastic litter into new jobs and a better environment.

Turtle entangled in old nets © http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2005/s2429.htm

Fishermen must fish for litter

I hope we can encourage more fishermen to fish for litter.

The large UK fisheries fleet can play an important role. A "Fishing for Litter" campaign was launched back in 2004, including fishermen from Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and the UK.

Last year fishing vessels in Scotland voluntarily cleared over 500 hundred tons of marine litter.

Fishermen are already collecting ghost nets (old nets that have been dumped into the ocean), and these nets are being recycled into brand new fishing nets.

The reform of the EU Common Fisheries Policy proposed by EU-Commissioner Maria Damanaki might mean that fishermen will be paid by European Union funds to fish for litter. There is a huge potential for further development. Maybe some vessels will go to sea with the sole purpose of collecting plastic?

We also need to improve waste management on shore and on vessels to make collection much easier - and individual countries must strengthen their recycling schemes.

Demonstration of the collection of floating marine debris for recovery by fisherman at harbour of Beaulieu, France. © Waste Free Oceans

Litter isn't waste; but raw material.

It's time to make use of this material and clean up our oceans.

Anna Rosbach is a member of the European Parliament's Environment Committee, substitute in the Fisheries Committee, and Chairwoman of Waste Free Oceans, an Europe-wide initiative by plastic recyclers and fishermen to clean up our coastal waters.

The annual Great Dorset Beach Clean will transform the beaches in these pictures. Join the fun this weekend.

For more about Friends of the Earth's work on the marine environment take a look at the Marinet website.