Marine litter is a global challenge similar to that of climate change, both in terms of its enormous impact on health, the environment and the economy, but also on the fact that these two major global problems are the result of local actions and inertia of society.

Plastics and all sorts of waste we find even in the most remote parts of the planet, thousands of miles away from residential areas. It is estimated that 80% of marine litter comes from human activities on land and only 20% of activities at sea. It is also estimated that 60 to 90% of marine litter is mainly made of plastics (UNEP-GRID 2016).

Our oceans are already the largest dump for millions of tons of used plastic per year. However, visible plastic pollution, so common in almost all the shores of the world, is a relatively small problem compared to invisible microplastics, which become an “integral” part of marine ecosystems. As recent research has shown, microplastics are already part of the food chain and have already been detected in small but measurable concentrations, in commercial salt and in bottled water.

The multidimensional problem of marine litter is due inter alia to solid waste management, lack of adequate infrastructure, as well as lack of effective measures and control mechanisms. At the same time, we also observe a serious inability to understand the magnitude of the impact of the attitudes of every one of us. One can see, therefore, that in order to tackle marine pollution, cross-sectoral solutions and alliances between global bodies and academic institutions are required with the participation of specialist and specialized consultants.

Qgreen collaborates with global policy makers to tackle and reduce marine pollution and has experience in drafting plans to prevent leakage of on land -waste in the terrestrial and aquatic environment.