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EurEau at the microplatics stakeholders dialogue

 

Yesterday and today a wide range of stakeholders - politicians, member states representatives, European Commission officials, international and national environmental agencies, academics, plastics and cosmetics industries, the water sector, environmental NGOs, research institutes - attended the conference ‘Eliminating Plastic and Microplastic Pollution - an urgent need’ organised by the EPA Network in Brussels.

Karmenu Vella, Commissioner for the Environment, delivered a keynote speech on the initiatives from the European Commission on this emerging issue. The Environment Commissioner reminded that the main source of microplastics remains plastic waste, hence an immediate answer to the problem should come from the new circular economy package.

He also focused on the enormous costs and the negative impact of plastic littering on beaches, recalling the importance of raising consumers’ awareness as part of the solution. If it is true that action needs to be taken at a global level, the EU should lead by example on this subject. As some actors in the plastic and cosmetics industry have started voluntary measures, the Commission will evaluate how effective they are in tackling the problem.

Bruno Tisserand, Chair of the EurEau waste water commission, joined a panel together with the representatives from Plastics Europe, Cosmetics Europe and Seas at Risk.

The stakeholders’ dialogue provided a great opportunity to engage with the participants in an open exchange of ideas to explore effective solutions that encompass the improvement of waste management, recycling of plastics, eco-design of plastic products, a ban on landfilling, a legally binding reduction target for marine litter, a ban on microbeads in cosmetics, hygiene and personal care products, innovative technologies in washing machines, reduction of use of plastic bags, closing research gaps and a better understanding of the sources of microplastics.

Participants felt the need of a truly European approach to the problem and in the next steps, more Environmental Agencies will be involved. Microplastics should also feature in the future State of the Environment Reports and they might become also object of monitoring in the inner waters, as today they are not included in the traditional monitoring required by the WFD.

Follow the developments on this emerging topic on this blog!

 

Carla

Water matters. EU matters.

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