The new ETC ICM report assesses the beach litter data collected in the period 2015-2021 under the Marine Litter Watch initiative. Assessment of the data may help strengthen Europe’s knowledge base on beach litter and thus provide support to relevant/interrelated European policies in tackling plastic pollution and marine litter.
This report builds on the MLW data set collected between 2015 and 2021, contributed by 22 European communities that have collected and monitored the beach litter on 175 beaches in 17 countries. The data shows that plastics represent 85% of total marine litter, and indeed single use plastic (SUP) items provide the bulk of the top ten litter categories. The Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea’s beaches are more littered.
The report, published on 3rd January 2023, is available from the ETC ICM website: Marine Litter Watch (MLW) 2021 European Beach Litter Assessment.