published by Surfrider Foundation Europe for the Reset Your Habits campaign White paper for an ocean free from plastic bottles Photographers Lachlan Dempsey Anastasia Taioglou Frank McKenna Benedicto de Jesus Andrew Martin Martin Sanchez Piotr Chrobot Arshad Pooloo Kaffeebart StartupStockPhotos Pezibear Michal Jarmoluk HeungSoon Karl Allen Lugmayer Surfrider Foundation Europe Contact Diane BEAUMENAY-JOANNET Campaign manager for Reset Your Habits [email protected] www.surfrider.eu/en/resetyourhabits The difference between what we do and what we are capable « of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problems. Mahatma Gandhi White paper for an ocean free from plastic bottles 4 Introduction Introduction Plastic bottles, that best-selling Reset Your Habits focuses on consumer item, are designed for a disposable water bottles since they single use, and to be discarded once account for most of the waste bottles their contents have been emptied. found, even though drinking water Used daily, mainly outdoors, plastic from the tap is easily accessible in the bottles all too often end up in the European Union. environment, where they become a real scourge, notably for aquatic flora The massive pollution caused by and fauna. plastic items needs to be met with global, urgent and effective action. Plastic bottles, and their caps, feature The European Union can act as a in the top ten categories of litter leader in this fight, by means of most frequently encountered along its Strategy on Plastics in Circular coastlines, in the marine environment Economy, if sufficiently ambitious and in rivers. Faced with this scourge, and binding. Specifically, the EU Surfrider Foundation Europe has should call on Member States to adopt launched the campaign Reset Your concrete measures to counter plastic Habits to raise awareness, mobilise waste at source. The discontinuance and reach out to all to reduce, at of disposable plastic items, including source, pollution caused by plastic bottles, would be an action on a par bottles. with the considerable threat posed by plastic containers. Reset Your Habits is calling for broad and deep societal and behavioural This White Paper for an Ocean free changes, where we modify our from Plastic Bottles, written to the consumption and production habits intention of the European Union and in order to limit our ecological its Member States, groups some, impact. This means replacing but not all, of Surfrider Foundation disposable plastic bottles with Europe’s recommendations to limit reusable, sustainable alternatives. the number of plastic bottles ending up in the environment. This campaign has also been devised to help citizens embracing the concept of the circular economy that should be applied over the entire lifecycle of plastic bottles, from design to disposal. 5 White paper for an ocean free from plastic bottles Summary of recommendations 1. 2. Improve Reduce the eco-design the production of plastic bottles of plastic bottles . Run an awareness and . Dialogue with industrial information campaign to stakeholders to come up with the intention of consumers on new policies to produce water bottles the issue of eco-design. by focusing on large containers (1 L and more). Optimise eco-design and the sustainable production of . Ban the production of plastic water plastic bottles. bottles containing less than 50 cL. Impose an environmental impact and sustainability study prior to authorising the commercialisation of new products. 6 Summary of recommendations 3. 4. 5. Reduce Reduce Improve the distribution the consumption the end-of-life of plastic bottles of plastic bottles management of plastic bottles . Encourage public institutions . Inform and educate as to the to stop using disposable plastic pollution caused by plastic bottles, containers for drinking water and the potential negative health . Inform, reach out and educate (bottles and cups) by 2020, replacing effects and run campaigns to to raise the awareness of the general then with reusable alternatives. the intention of the general public public as to sorting, collecting, during World Water Day or during the deposit-return systems and Put in place tax initiatives . European Week for Waste Reduction. recycling waste. to encourage distributors to limit the sale of disposable plastic bottles, . Encourage reusable alternatives . Set a binding target of 100% preferring instead to sell reusable and public water fountains during of plastic bottles recycled by 2030. containers. special events (bicentenary of the . Reinforce, at EU level, the Wallace fountains), major sporting Encourage the installation of extended responsibility of the . events (Olympic Games, French water fountains in stores and concerned economic stakeholders Tennis Open, etc.), and in schools. at festive and sporting events. (manufacturers, distributors and Support and guarantee the importers) by promoting a system Ban the use of plastic water . provision of good-quality tap water of Extended Producer Responsibility bottles in cafés, hotels and in the EU, by making these principles channels for plastic packaging, restaurants, to be replaced part of the EU Drinking Water including bottles. by returnable bottles and jugs. Directive. 7 White paper for an ocean free from plastic bottles 8 Contents Contents 10 16 Surfrider How can Foundation we prevent more Europe: 27 years plastic bottles combatting from ending up Marine Litter in the ocean? 12 Rise above plastics campaigns 18 1. Improve the eco-design of plastic bottles 13 2017: A new Reset Your Habits campaign 22 2. Reduce the production of plastic bottles 14 Surfrider is calling out... 24 3. Reduce the Distribution of Plastic Bottles 28 4. Reduce the consumption of plastic bottles 32 5. Improve the end-of-life management of plastic bottles 9 10 Surfrider Foundation Europe: 27 years combating Marine Litter 11 White paper for an ocean free from plastic bottles Rise above plastics campaigns Every year, between 10 Under the combined effects of The NGO has been particularly active ultraviolet radiation and the in major awareness and mobilisation and 15 million tonnes of mechanical abrasion of sea campaigns such as Ban the Bag waste end up in the ocean, waves, plastic waste breaks up (against disposable plastic bags) of which 60% to 90% is and decomposes3 into micro- or and Beat the Microbead (against nanoplastics, depending on their micro-plastics found in cosmetics, 1, comprised of plastic waste size4. These have seriously negative cleaning and healthcare products). a figure on the constant impacts on marine organisms Surfrider Foundation Europe also increase since a direct who swallow them and can die develops its expertise regarding the of asphyxiation or intestinal origin and nature of marine litter by reflection of our production obstruction. As things stand, running participatory science and and consumer modes, uncertainties exist as to the impact, scientific programs such as the Ocean where plastic occupies a on the environment and on humans Initiatives program, sponsored by and animals, of chemical elements the European Commission in 2013, preponderant and growing adsorbed and released by plastic the Riverine Input programme and a position. To see this, one waste. For example, it has been network to monitor waste on beach need only consider that the proven that micro-plastics attract thanks to the implementation of the and absorb persistent organic OSPAR Convention (OSPAR, Marine global production of plastic pollutants (POP), already present Strategy Framework Directive). grew from 1.5 tonnes per in the environment, such as PCBs year in 1950 to 322 tonnes and DDT. Scientific research at In order to consolidate its actions, the University of Tokyo has shown Surfrider Foundation Europe joined 2. per year in 2015 that some POPs were to be found forces with about 100 organisations in seabird tissue after they had involved in the “Break Free from swallowed micro-plastics carrying Plastic” international movement, these pollutants. As a result, doing so right from when the scientists are concerned that, in the movement was founded in 2016. SFE future, POPs could end up in the food co-founded the “Rethink Plastic” EU chain. A recent report prepared by alliance to incite EU institutions to the Food and Agriculture take concrete measures for a future Organization (FAO) listed 121 species with no plastic pollution. of seafood readily available on sale that ingest micro-plastics5. Faced with this plight, Surfrider Foundation Europe (SFE) has, for 27 years now, been active in about a dozen European countries, supported by over 120,000 volunteers, working together to preserve oceans and coastlines, and reduce plastic waste. 1 Barnes et al., 2009; Thompson et al., 2004; Ryan et al., 2009 2 PlasticsEurope 3 Cózar et al., 2014 4 Microplastics, which are pieces of plastic less than 5 mm in size, can also be introduced directly into the marine environment, for example, through wastewater networks in the case of fibres from clothing. 5 FAO, Microplastics in fisheries and aquaculture Status of knowledge on their occurrence and implications for aquatic organisms and food safety, http://www.fao.org/3/a-i7677e.pdf 12 Surfrider Foundation Europe, 27 years combating Marine Litter 2017 : A new Reset Your Habits campaign In 2017, Surfrider Building on this alarming status Action levers code, Surfrider Foundation Europe Foundation Europe decided to launch a new campaign: of the campaign has been focusing on “Reset Your Habits: reusable bottles disposable plastic bottles. can make the difference”, a campaign designed to raise awareness, mobilise A symptom of mass and reach out to all to reduce, at consumption and over- source, the pollution caused by packaging, plastic bottles, plastic bottles. The purpose of the Awareness campaign is to prevent new plastic originally containing items from entering the environment Inform the public as to the problems water or other drinks, and by initiating broad and deep societal caused by plastic bottle pollution. their tops, are amongst and behavioural change, with disposables discontinued to the the top 10 items that end benefit of reusables.