BIR Commends European Plastics Industry on Efforts to Reduce Impact of Plastic Litter on Marine Life

The Brussels, Belgium-based Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) is applauding an initiative introduced by PlasticsEurope that seeks to develop a joint action plan that addresses the marine life pollution caused by plastic litter.

The declaration, which was signed by major plastics industry organizations, outlines a set of objectives for industry action, and advocates close cooperation with stakeholders to achieve substantial progress in reducing damage to the marine environment.

In a letter to Jacques van Rijckevorsel, president of PlasticsEurope, Francis Veys, BIR’s director, congratulated the European plastics industry efforts to play a “catalyst role” for concrete actions that aim at the reduction of plastics debris in the world oceans.

The European plastics group has brought together 47 plastics industry organizations to sign a “Joint Declaration for Solutions on Marine Litter. The declaration was first announced at the 5^th International Marine Debris Conference in March 2011.

In the six-point strategy outlined in the declaration, the industry pledged the following:

·         Work in public-private partnerships aimed at preventing marine debris

·         Work with the scientific community to better understand the scope, origins and impact of marine litter and the range of solutions to the problem

·         Promote comprehensive science-based policies and enforcement of existing laws to prevent marine litter

·         Promote best practices in waste management, particularly in coastal regions

·         Enhance opportunities to recover plastic products for recycling and energy recovery

·         Steward the transport and distribution of plastic resin pellets and products to its consumers and promote this practice along the supply chain

To view the joint declaration, click here -- http://www.plasticseurope.org/documents/document/20110330112440-2011_03_30_joint_declaration.pdf