Progress report for
UK Commitments on Marine Litter
Achievement at a glance
In June 2017, the UK joined the UN Clean Seas campaign where we committed to taking an international and transboundary approach to tackling marine litter. In 2017, the UK published the first Litter Strategy for England which sets out how we will work with different local groups, local authorities, Highways England and businesses to reduce litter. In 2018, the UK published the 25 Year Environment Plan which sets out how we will improve the environment over a generation, and the Resources and Waste Strategy for England, an ambitious document that sets out how we will preserve our stock of material resources by minimising waste, promoting resource efficiency and moving towards a more circular economy. In 2018, the UK launched one the world’s toughest bans on the sale and manufacture of microbeads in rinse-off personal care products. Since 2015 the UK has reduced the use of single-use plastic bags from the main supermarkets by 95% with the introduction of the GBP0.05 charge. In response to public consultation this charge will be extended to all retailers and increased to 10p from April 2021. In 2018, the UK and Vanuatu launched the Commonwealth Clean Ocean Alliance (CCOA), a Blue Charter Action Group geared towards tackling marine plastic pollution. This alliance now has 34 members who have pledged to tackle plastic pollution. The UK is an active member of the Global Ghost Gear Initiative: a pioneering alliance of the fishing industry, private companies, NGOs, which aims to improve the health of marine ecosystems, protect marine animals and safeguard human health and livelihoods. The UK supports and co-funds the Global Plastic Action Partnership (hosted by the World Economic Forum) along with Canada and several companies. This initiative focuses on driving collaboration between governments, NGOs and private sector stakeholders in coastal economies to reduce plastic pollution.Challenges faced in implementation
The Commonwealth Clean Ocean 2020 Conference, a global platform to share knowledge and lessons learned from projects around the world, including the Commonwealth Litter Programme (CLiP) and the CCOA Technical Assistance Facility (TAF), was planned to be held in London 17-19 March 2020. The conference was due to bring together Ministers, senior policy-makers, NGOs, representatives of civil society, scientists and industry leaders to share knowledge and identify solutions to the challenge of marine plastic pollution. Due to the onset of Covid-19 in early 2020, the conference was postponed and a new date for the event will be communicated in due course. Additionally, there has been an increasing number of new initiatives aimed at tackling marine litter without proper coordination internationally. This could lead to a duplication of effort and weaken the work of the individual initiatives. The UK would wish to see better coordination of these initiatives.Beneficiaries
To tackle marine litter, the UK has been addressing the issue domestically and internationally, taking a whole-life cycle approach that will prevent and divert material from becoming a source of litter. We have rigorous domestic policies in place and are leading international efforts to support developing countries tackle this issue, particularly through the Commonwealth. We are also supporting young people to take action to reduce plastic waste in their own lives and become leaders in their communities.