Welcome to Higginson Strategy’s weekly round-up of international news relating to plastic pollution.
This week, Spain has introduced plans to ban plastic wet wipes and make manufacturers pay to clean up their pollution, alongside a ban on balloons. Analysis led by Reloop of 80 countries found the proportion of drinks items in the litter stream was 54 per cent lower in areas with a Deposit Return Scheme. The US State of New York has passed a bill requiring sellers or distributors of packaging to register with a packaging reduction organisation and introduced bans on plastic packaging containing certain chemicals. Large names including Walmart, Mondelēz, Mars, Nestlé and L’Oréal USA have left the US Plastics Pact, which aims to tackle plastic packaging waste. Finally, research by the Zoological Society of London found “shockingly high” levels of plastic contamination in some of the most remote parts of the Chagos Marine Protected Areas.
Spain to ban flushing wet wipes and balloons
Spain is set to ban people from throwing wet wipes down the toilet and deliberately releasing disposable balloons, in a bid to protect its rivers and seas from plastic pollution. The law being prepared by the government will make wet wipe manufacturers cover the cost of cleaning up their products from the country’s clogged sewers and water-treatment plants.
Wet wipes and balloons are the fifth and ninth most commonly found single-use plastic items on European beaches, according to an EU directive referenced by the Spanish government. According to Spain’s plans, the new law would mean wet wipe manufacturers have to cover the costs of cleaning up their products, “including cleaning of sanitation and treatment infrastructure, as well as its subsequent transport and treatment”.
Read more here.
Ocean-bound plastic bottle waste 54 per cent lower in countries with Deposit Return Scheme
Analysis led by Reloop has revealed on average, the proportion of drinks items in the litter stream was 54 per cent lower in areas with a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). Among European nations which have implemented the policy, plastic bottles accounted for an average of just 0.5 per cent of total litter by count in 2023, compared to 3.2 per cent for those without a scheme – an 86 per cent lower share.
The research also finds that litter levels across a range of container types were significantly lower in areas with a DRS compared to those without, including plastic beverage bottles at 63 per cent lower and glass bottles 41 per cent lower. This analysis has been revealed ahead of the UN Ocean Conference in Nice next week, using data from over 80 countries.
New York State passes law mandating packaging reduction and recycling plans
The State of New York has passed a bill requiring sellers or distributors of packaging to register with a packaging reduction organisation and develop a plan to reduce and recycle their waste.
The bill introduces an array of targets including mandated recycling and reuse rates for plastic and non-plastic packaging that will be in effect by 1st January 2037, with at least 50 per cent of packaging material required to be reused or recycled, alongside bans on packaging materials including opaque or pigmented PET, non-recyclable label constructions (such as inks or adhesives) and polystyrene.
Read more here.
Nestlé, Mondelēz leave the US Plastics Pact
Walmart, the largest retailer in the US, is no longer participating with the US Plastics Pact, with recent multinational brands including Mondelēz, Mars, Nestlé and L’Oréal USA among previous members that have also recently stepped away from the group.
The US Plastics Pact launched in 2020 as part of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s global network of plastics pacts with some 60 activators, including the aforementionedcompanies that have recently left. The companies have been approached for a comment on their departure, whilst Eric Downing, the Pact’s director of marketing and communications, said activators have a choice to renew their membership of the group on an annual basis.
Read more here.
Microplastics now pollute remote Chagos manta ray feeding areas
“Shockingly high” levels of plastic contamination have been discovered in some of the most remote parts of the Chagos Marine Protected Areas according to researchers from the Zoological Society of London, raising fears among scientists over the region’s population of reef manta rays for which Chagos has been designated a global safe haven and important feeding area.
As filter feeders, long-term exposure to plastic ingestion not only increases exposure of manta rays to harmful chemicals associated with things such as reduced fertility and immune responses, but it also puts the species at real risk of clogging their filtering systems. Researchers primarily found microfibres that tend to originate from clothing in the sea, indicating that the remote region was being infiltrated by microplastics from further afield, polluting a designated important area by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Read more here.