MCC Documents Repository

The monitoring of marine macrolitter requires an unambiguous identification of its identity, enabled through an agreed list of litter categories. The Joint List of Litter Categories for Macrolitter Monitoring was prepared by the MSFD Technical Group on Marine Litter (MSFD TG ML), in close collaboration with EU Member States and the Regional Sea Conventions. The list was adopted by the MSFD Coordination Group (November 2019). It provides a comprehensive list of litter types, which occur in the coastal and marine environment. This comprehensive list can be used to enable comparable monitoring of marine litter across the European Seas and beyond, as well as across different compartments of the marine environment.

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD, 2008/56/EC) requires that European threshold values (TVs) for marine litter (descriptor 10) be defined. The MSFD Technical Group on Marine Litter (TG ML) decided to focus on coastline litter (Criterion 1), often referred to as beach litter, in a first step, since for this criterion a monitoring framework is in place and a substantial amount of fit-for-purpose beach litter monitoring data is available at the European scale (see Hanke et al., 2019). This report describes the rationale and method to obtain a European TV for beach litter, as developed by Member States and other experts within the TG ML. It was concluded by TG ML that a TV cannot be based on quantitative ecological and socio-economic harm due to a lack of scientific data on harm caused by marine litter on beaches. Of the remaining options, the use of the 10th percentile value of the total litter abundance dataset from all European beaches in the baseline period 2015-2016 was selected and applied, as it was considered to be sufficiently precautionary while being based on already available beach litter abundances in the EU. The underlying baseline dataset was developed within the TG ML. Calculation of the 10th percentile of the EU baseline dataset resulted in a value of 13 litter items per 100 m of coastline length. Further consideration of the 95% confidence intervals of the TV and assessment value, respectively, led to a final TV of 20 litter items/100 m beach length, which corresponds to the 15th percentile value of the EU baseline dataset. This TV is estimated by experts from TG ML to reduce harm from beach litter to a sufficiently precautionary level. The methodology acknowledges uncertainties in the underlying data which is considered in the proposal. The median assessment value is compared with this TV for compliance checking. It is acknowledged that achieving this TV will require substantial and sustained measures over a longer period. Intermediate targets over time towards the proposed TV are proposed to support the achievement of the TV.

The revised Commission Decision 2017/848/EU requires EU Member States to establish threshold values for criteria of Descriptor 10 on marine litter. Threshold values, which are now mandatory through the new provisions, are intended to contribute to Member States' determination of a set of characteristics for Good Environmental Status and enable their assessment of the extent to which Good Environmental Status is being achieved under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). The MSFD Technical Group on Marine Litter has been mandated, through the MSFD 2016-2019 work program of the Common Implementation Strategy, to develop approaches for setting threshold values and to work towards agreed threshold values. This document sets out the scope of setting threshold values for marine litter criteria, explores general concepts of threshold setting and how those concepts can be translated to address the various hazardous effects of marine litter. It evaluates potential options for setting threshold values and their suitability for use with marine litter. While thresholds for marine litter criteria in different environmental compartments may follow the same basic concepts, they may each require specific approaches and need to be discussed separately. Therefore, basic thoughts are presented and questions are raised, which should be addressed when defining threshold values for litter in the different marine compartments and for marine litter impacts. In conclusion, recommendations for marine litter threshold setting are made.

Reducing litter in the coastal and marine environment is a major and priority challenge in the effort to preserve biota, ecosystems, as well as goods and services that humans derive from seas and oceans. The identification of the most abundant beach litter items, the 'Top Marine Beach Litter Items', is a matter of concern for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), the EU Plastics Strategy and in general for the prioritisation of measures against marine litter. Specific measures are needed to prevent further inputs and reduce the abundance of litter items. Based on a 2016 beach litter data set, this report has identified the most abundant items on EU beaches. A total of 355 671 marine litter items were recorded during 679 surveys on 276 European beaches. The quantification of items through beach litter monitoring enables a ranking of items based on their numerical abundance. While a few studies from regional sea conventions (RSCs), non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and research projects have ranked items by their occurrence on beaches at different spatial scales, there had been no EUwide analysis before this report. This report has been developed by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) within the MSFD Technical Group on Marine Litter (TG Marine Litter). It compiles available studies and publications of lists of the main marine beach litter items. While several publications describe and apply different calculation methods, which might lead to different results, this report applies the 'total abundance method' to a set of European beach litter data that had been collected by the TG Marine Litter. Data is based on a oneyear sampling exercise (2016) and includes the findings of monitoring programmes, clean-up campaigns and research projects. The results of the report (which also address single-use products) are provided to support the development of the EU Plastics Strategy. The data analysis involved the grouping of spatial-temporal data at European, regional and national levels, and includes the seasonal variability of beach litter. This report also gives a brief review of potential item-related risk, and prioritisation based on their potential to harm. The report provides information that will help develop and implement the most efficient measures against marine litter.