On the 11th July our Brussels office will be co-hosting a forum exploring ‘How to Reduce the Impact of Plastic Products on the Marine Environment’ in partnership with the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment and European media platform EURACTIV.

The forum follows the European Commission’s launch of an awareness-raising campaign to highlight citizens’ role in combatting plastic pollution and marine litter and the presentation of a proposal for new legislation to tackle marine plastic at its source – targeting the ten types of single-use plastic products that most often end up in the oceans. As part of this proposal the Commission has put forward new rules to manage the impact of these products, with measures ranging from banning items to introducing consumption reduction schemes.

High profile figures such as Members of the European Parliament and Member States have been invited to the forum, as well as representatives from NGO Zero Waste Europe, industry giant IKEA and the European Commission itself, to discuss how to reduce the impact of plastic products on the marine environment.

The forum will open with a speech from the Norwegian Minister of Climate and Environment, Ola Elvestuen, followed by a presentation from our Chairman Dominic Hogg. The panellists will then debate solutions ranging from the role of extended producer responsibility in waste management to taxes on polluting plastics and the best way to implement new plastic regulations across all member states.

Our involvement in the event comes as part of our ongoing research into marine plastics. Most recently, in February 2018 we published the report ‘Investigating Options for Reducing Releases in the Aquatic Environment of Microplastics Emitted by Products’. Produced for the European Commission, this research provides detailed analysis on the sources of microplastics in the aquatic environment, as well as information on a range of solutions for their reduction.

‘How to Reduce the Impact of Plastic Products on the Marine Environment’ will take place at Norway House on Wednesday 11th July. The agenda is available to download here, and those interested in registering to attend can sign up here.

The Head of our Brussel’s office, Hara Xirou, said:

“We are very pleased to co-host this event with the Ministry of Environment of Norway and EURACTIV at such a key time on the plastics policy development forefront. The challenge will be for governments, citizens and industry to tackle this together. What other long term solution can be proposed apart from reducing plastic waste by recycling and reusing more?”