The European Commission has published a stakeholder survey “Reducing marine litter: actions on single use plastics and abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear” as part of the follow up to the EU Strategy on Plastics scheduled for adoption in January 2018.

Plastics are an important material in the economy and present in many aspects of our daily lives, but they also have relatively low rates of reuse and recycling and are prone to littering.

The European Commission Action Plan for a Circular Economy (2015) therefore identified plastics as one of 5 priority areas. A Communication outlining the strategy for plastics is currently under preparation and scheduled for adoption in January 2018. Rising amounts of plastic waste and marine litter are among the key problems that the strategy seeks to address.

The consultation consists of different parts, of which one is directed at the general public and the two others at audiences with some expert knowledge or interest for single use plastic and fishing gear respectively. The consultation is open until 12 February.