Marine litter issues, impacts and actions

A study that will contribute to developing a marine litter strategy for Scotland’s seas in light of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010.


13 Appendix 1

13.1 Stakeholder Workshop-Raw Data

Current situation: Identification and review of reduction at source initiatives and approaches ( KM)
Awareness raising campaigns and behaviour change tools
  • Scottish Water
    • Awareness campaign
    • Bag it and Bin it (households)
    • Fat disposal
    • Information on SW website
  • Compliance with campaigns is not mandatory
    • Could be more widely advertised
  • Awareness campaigns have been running for years
  • Labelling could be improved to help raise awareness ( future)
  • GRAB trust
    • Awareness raising (schools and beach cleaning)
    • Funding from SNH, landfill tax and the Crown Estate
  • There are other examples
    • Not coordinated at the Local Authority level
  • MCS also do this type of work
    • It depends on volunteer uptake
  • Limited, part time engagement (difficult to keep momentum up beyond an initiative)
  • General litter campaigns (not targeted at marine/coastal)
  • Encourage re-use of bags
    • Biodegradable bags don't biodegrade in cold marine environment
    • Has been a recent reduction in use of plastic bags (1 billion fewer/year)
  • Some Local Authorities have banned balloon races (a form of littering)
  • Bag it and Bin it campaign: need to keep it in the public eye otherwise littering behaviour returns to pre-campaign levels
Chain of responsibility
  • Manufacture (polluter pays?) - consumers (do pay)
    • System awareness
  • What is the source of litter? Often higher up the chain
  • Scottish Government states that the responsibility for marine litter lies with the producer
Harbour litter facilities (including KIMO) and shipping legislation
  • Peterhead, KIMO: fishing for litter
  • Only 12-16 larger ports involved around Scotland
  • Aberdeen harbour dropped its KIMO skip
    • However port waste plan does provide removal of shipping waste with a mandatory charge (which goes mainly to landfill)
    • Fishing boats can also use port waste facilities but no payment required
    • Port waste plans part of wider international agreements
  • Aberdeen Harbour has a new boat to collect port litter
    • This will include litter brought from upstream and in by the tide
    • It may be possible to monitor the volume collected
  • No garbage bags ??
  • Harbour costs/fees
  • MARPOL regulation relating to offloading waste at every port: needs further implementation and more policing
    • Issue with boats transporting litter
    • Economic viability of waste collection
    • Reporting required but not always provided
  • Harbour cleaning boats: also used on the upper Clyde and by Forth Ports (?)
    • Why? It's regulation and self interest that drives this
    • There's lots of supermarket sourced litter: responsibility lies with them?
    • Health and safety is another driver
Engagement with marine industries and fisheries
  • Issues of engagement with marine industries
    • Different for fisheries?
  • "Seafish" provides local training focus for "responsible fishing"
  • FUTURE Leasing fishing nets (not tried yet)
Regulation - Good Ecological Status to 3km
  • Scottish Water: the industry is increasingly regulated
    • Investment is made as early as possible to achieve Good Ecological Status ( GES) out to 3 nautical miles by 2015
    • Screening at shellfish and bathing water sites for GEC (pollution affects this)
Combined Sewerage Overflows
  • Pumping stations and combined sewerage overflows ( CSO)
  • Address the screening of CSOs including ideal mesh size and working to reduce the inputs to them
Environmental standards (e.g. ISO for Fishfarms)
  • Environmental standards for fishfarms?
    • Increasing ISO standards and these are covered in advance by ESAs ( SEA? EIA?).
    • Could this approach be applied elsewhere or in other sectors?
Mechanical tools for litter removal/recovery
  • Future : recycled plastic booms currently being tested for litter recovery in Southern France
    • Possibility of expanding its use across Europe
  • River grills (on outside bends of rivers to trap litter)
International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships ( MARPOL) and introduction of ship waste management systems
  • MARPOL
    • Example from U.S. cruise ship fined $300k, dumping at sea reported by passenger
    • New ships are fitted with waste management systems including the sorting of recyclables
    • Older boats are not required to retrofit these systems (difficult)
Encouraging re-use (e.g. deposit/return)
  • Re-use items
    • Encourage through reverse spending (e.g. deposit/return).
    • Can work out to be too costly to implement?
    • E.g. BARRS one of few companies left who still do this (and fund beach cleanups?)
    • Expand and normalise such an approach
  • PB charging
Enforcement and incentives
  • Enforcement
    • Fixed penalties for fly-tipping etc.
    • Is the legislation good enough?
    • Can it be policed effectively?
  • Benefits of wider policing
Alternatives to plastics / product development and reduced packaging
  • Cotton buds: move to wood/cardboard sticks (with Coastal Partnerships? )
  • Use of popcorn as a packaging material!
    • Fungal packaging being developed!
  • Plastic vs paper bags (pros and cons)
Summary points:
  • What is 'reduction at source?' To be clarified in the Marine Strategy
  • Some industry led initiatives have worked (e.g. reduction in plastic bag usage) - further reduction in packaging is possible
  • Need to increase the re-use of bottles, fishing gear etc.
  • Current initiatives are ad-hoc, coordinate and learn from each other.
Current situation: identification and review of existing governance approaches ( TP)
?
  • Effectiveness of voluntary schemes?
  • No coordinating role for marine litter issues
    • Potential for Marine Scotland
?
  • Individuals/maritime/industry
    • Uncoordinated
    • Reforms
    • Scale?
?
  • Individuals / organisations
    • Balance of enforcement versus and awareness
?
  • Governance is good but behavioural change is needed
Awareness raising campaigns and behaviour change tools
  • Social awareness is gathering momentum, it's a social process
  • Linking to the Zero Waste Plan
  • Behavioural
  • Social/cultural psychology of littering: where does the UK / Scotland sit?
  • Social acceptability of littering
  • Recent issue on the radar, people now realise that it is a problem
  • Fly-tipping is convenient
Chain of responsibility
  • Packaging partnerships with retail to help reduce the problem
  • Is there a cross-link to marine industry / marine litter sources?
  • Less litter, less littering
  • Non attributable litter raises problems for enforcement ( ? 20% from MCS )
  • Role of business to encourage customers
  • What is the extent of business to consumers (?)
  • Easy to get around the system e.g. landfill
    • Who will pay for that?
  • Landfill is becoming more expensive and less accessible
  • Should we be reducing the overall scale of litter rather than shifting litter?
  • Mass littering through retail activities (e.g. balloon release kits) yet illegal to dump litter
Harbour litter facilities (including KIMO) and shipping legislation
  • Harbour Boards / LGAs have bins out but not being used
    • More innovative infrastructure required
Engagement with marine industries and fisheries
  • "Fish for Litter", provide incentives?
Regulation - Good Ecological Status to 3km
  • Framework for industrial polluters?
    • SEPA?
    • Nanoparticles
  • SEPA role in licencing
Enforcement and incentives
  • Strengthen the enforcement regime?
  • How do you regulate everything from individuals to industries at sea?
    • Very difficult to enforce and prosecute
  • What is the current enforcement regime?
    • Local authorities, limits from local officers
    • Maritime industries
      • 'rubbish log'
      • Not enforced
      • Ports Directive
      • Highly difficult to police
  • It is hard to enforce even in harbour let alone at sea
  • Incentive to drop overboard is high
    • Every boat should be charged a fee across the board
  • Combine carrot and stick approach
  • Lack of enforcement, who has the power?
  • Difficult to enforce rules on land let alone at sea
  • Despite clear evidence it's hard to regulate or prosecute
  • Enforcement problems at local authority level
  • Very high requirement for evidence to prosecute
    • Local Government Act 2003
    • Environment Protection Act
Alternatives to plastics / product development and reduced packaging
  • Statutory targets for recycled content?
Scale, including coordination between local and national scales
  • Local Authorities
    • Edinburgh got tough on enforcing litter (?)
    • By-laws on Aberdeen beach £40-50 but not enforced
  • Depends on the geography
  • Micro-management to macro-management scale
Litter facilities e.g. type and availability of bins
  • What is the effectiveness of recycling activities?
    • Focus on recycling charges and waste charges
    • Perceived lack of action and of awareness
Policy coordination, governance and implementation
  • Review of legislative options in Scotland
  • Scatter-gun approach
  • Lots of good examples but no coordination limits effectiveness
  • Climate change act
    • Waste provisions?
    • How to implement?
  • Is there any governance?
  • Is it high up the political agenda?
    • It is up the media agenda
    • High up the Scottish ( political?) agenda particularly through marine strategy framework
Private and NGO initiatives and lobbying
  • Big companies are driving this issue
    • Partly being driven by NGOs
  • There's still an interest in environmental performance by private companies e.g.
    • "Love where you Live" launched in England and Wales in March (2010 or 2011?) with £200k funding
  • W.R.A.P. is working to reduce waste and packaging
  • Key retailers are signed up to targets to reduce packaging and increase recycling
Current Situation: Identification and review of existing removal, cleaning and monitoring operations - EH
Awareness raising campaigns and behaviour change tools
  • Wealth of activity by recreation groups
    • Underwater surveys
    • RYA Green Blue
    • Sailing clubs
    • Responsible fishing scheme by SeaFish for commercial fisheries
      • Though current funding issues for SeaFish may decrease success
  • Green Blue
    • Very active currently with education
  • Eco Schools has a compulsory unit on litter
    • Could this be expanded to include marine litter and its impacts
    • Using emotive images (eg those form John's ppt)
    • Needs to link wit curriculum
    • Local Coastal Partnership Litter DVD for marine litter as part of 5-14 yrs curriculum link to possible funding from the climate challenge fund
Chain of responsibility
  • Crown Estate
    • Lack of responsibility
    • Monitoring as the landowner?
  • Water companies are not the source of litter-it is the consumers/users, there is only so much we can do with products not designed for the system i.e. sanitary
    • Can charges for networks with more issues be increased?
    • Dilapidated systems in some parts of Scotland
    • But the same could be said for local authorities, harbours etc
    • Everyone needs to take responsibility
Harbour litter facilities (including KIMO) and shipping legislation
  • KIMO Fishing for Litter
    • Only in fished areas
    • Not seen as monitoring-trying to bring about a culture change
    • Voluntary
    • Litter not sorted as this would decrease participation
Engagement with marine industries and fisheries
  • Training is needed for young fishers before they go to sea
Combined Sewerage Overflows
  • Surfers against sewage
    • Return to sender
    • Work against sewage overflows
Costs and funding issues
  • Local authority budget cuts
    • Can community services be used for clean ups?
    • Responsibility under the Environmental Protection Act to clean beaches
    • Huge budget implications
    • Lack of enforcement
  • Landfill tax
    • Polluter pays (or should do)
    • Fishing for Litter has to pay via KIMO
    • But some exemptions i.e. dredging for navigation
    • A devolvement of land fill tax to Scotland may help
Litter facilities e.g. type and availability of bins
  • Not just off beaches
    • Issues with full bins
    • Too few/lack of bins in busy areas
  • Seaside awards and Blue flags give LA responsibility to write beach litter plans, including the provision of facilities and monitored by KSB
Policy coordination, governance and implementation
  • What is the role of Scottish Government in this?
  • Strategy
    • needs to consider monitoring requirements
    • funding
    • and how to coordinate/use that information
    • needs to take GES into account
Data availability, quality and use
  • Is there any access to all of the work/data by universities?
    • How can we access and capture this information?
  • MSS ' Scotia' trawls but data not used
  • Incentives for other fisher data?
Monitoring litter
  • Beachwatch
    • very good but beach selection issues; rural v's urban
    • great for data collection but some people just want to collect rubbish not fill in the forms
    • easy and logical to participate
    • * 4/yr
  • OSPAR photo guidelines for different litter types
    • EU wide approach will allow for standardised data collection
  • Da Vor Redd Up
    • 40% population participate
    • Just clean, little in the way of data collection
    • Clean up kits provided
  • National Spring Clean
    • Data on the number of bags only
    • Wriggley's provided funding for permanent kits for individual groups
  • Community beach cleans
    • More commercial sponsoring is needed for gloves, bags, publicity
    • Lack of information re numbers of cleans, locations, litter collected-very ad hoc
    • Clean but no data
  • Local coastal partnership cleans for team building
    • Unsure if data are collected
  • Island tourist beaches cleaned; community organised
  • Local authorities clean amenity beaches
    • Amenity beaches well cleaned
    • Aberdeen City clean c. 60 tons/yr
  • SEPA monitoring data
    • Not currently shared but perhaps more suitable than KIMO's
    • SEPA trawls for litter during routine survey work, will be reported to national database
  • Da Vor Redd Up
    • Beach and roadside clean
    • High % participation
    • Community groups get funding depending on how much litter they collect
      • Benefit from clean area as well as funding
    • Funding coming to an end due to Disclosure Scotland issues
    • This will be the first yr with no funding, interesting to see how it effects uptake
  • National Spring Clean now over a 2 month period (previously 1)
    • General feeling by public that it is LA responsibility
  • Monitoring not adequate
    • Gov will need to set up a programme for GES and MSFD compliance
    • And feed in to voluntary OSPAR work
  • Community cleans in Argyll and Bute using landfill tax funding
    • Not aware of Disclosure issues
    • Volunteers get checked for free
  • Ad hoc cleans but no data recorded due to time/money issues
    • Encourage monitoring from community cleans
    • Will help/could be used to help with source reduction
  • Beachwatch
    • 18 years of data from monitoring
    • Contribution to OSPAR guidelines and monitoring
    • Only organisation to do this but how can it be expanded?
    • Guidelines and project used by other groups ie LCPs and data for MLIIA
    • Need more funding and more promotion
    • Regional figures exist but only produce documents with Scotland level data
    • Some bias towards more accessible beaches-more public litter, more likely to be cleaned
    • Lack of data fed back to MCS from LA's
    • Data issues if methodology is different
    • Misleading terminology as a crisp packet is not necessarily from a beach user
      • Wording now changed to 'public'
  • What is the value of our monitoring?
    • MCS data includes source, amounts, types, changes, and how to reduce it
    • Data is used by SG and industry to reduce litter
    • Strategy development shows this is being used
    • Need regional information to effectively tackle/reduce at source as well as Scottish level; but issues with staff, time and funding
    • MCS-this could be provided to LA's for their areas
  • Do we expand monitoring beyond a snapshot or use what we have?
    • We need more monitoring within existing processes but also need to best use what we have
    • Need to consider more rural, inaccessible areas in Scotland
    • Need to consider litter sinks-where are they and how to reduce inputs to them
    • Issues of skewing resources to bathing waters and more urban sites
    • Issue made more complex as we have relatively low litter levels everywhere and not confined in a few places
Sharing good practice
  • How do/should we ( LA's, agencies, HEI's, user organisations, industry) exchange information on best practice?
    • All comes down to funding
  • St Andrews West Sand Partnership
    • Ecosystem approach
    • Litter removal by hand to promote strandline biodiversity
    • Local issues with erosion-mechanical cleaning will likely increase this
    • Mechanical cleaning only during the Open and the Sandcastle competition
    • Partnership includes MOD and local people, agencies
    • EU demonstration site under LIFE funding befits with WFD geomorphological goals
    • Meets all problems with on management scheme
Top points:
  • Enforcement is inadequate/difficult
  • Geography and regional differences
  • More encouragement of community groups, currently ad hoc and not joined up
  • Litter is an accepted part of society
How to reduce future inputs of marine litter by source: coastal sources ( KM)
Awareness raising campaigns and behaviour change tools
  • Public change
    • Fines?
    • Change views?
  • Accreditation schemes
    • Zero Waste Scotland to address this: Courthauld
  • Improved use of information to contribute to campaigns
  • Better coordination of Bag it and Bin it
    • Link to other initiatives and sectors
  • Education within communities including:
    • Ecoschools - schools can choose to participate (public funded initiative)
  • Education of specific beach user types and at specific beaches
  • SEPA
    • signs on designated beaches
    • increased policing
  • Beach manager
    • Provided by every coastal LA, however Fife possibly only one with on the ground presence.
    • Can this be improved?
    • Lifeguards are used for this purpose elsewhere (busier beaches)
  • Communicate evidence to the public e.g. cigarette butt poster at St Abbs Head
  • Use shocking images such as injuries caused to animals by plastic can connectors
    • Improve packaging
  • Increase awareness of marine litter issues in broader litter campaigns
  • Education regarding litter relating to land, sea, coastal environments
    • Tie in education, government adverts, litter awareness
    • This is seasonal so build up awareness before the beach season, build up awareness when it's needed
    • MCS beachwatch statistics in April: can these be used at the local level?
  • Collect litter and leave in an educational pile indicating 'this is what people left here only yesterday'
  • Use role models e.g. Keep Britain Tidy
  • Internet campaigns?
Chain of responsibility
  • Polluter pays?
    • Consumer? Market? Producer?
  • Producer responsible for certain product types (e.g. cotton buds)?
  • Need retailers to stock 'good' products
  • Social responsibility
    • ID by barcodes
    • But who buys is not always who pollutes?
    • How might customer profiles be used?
    • Use to target user responsibility?
  • Businesses on beaches and products used on beaches
    • Work with associated businesses
  • Engage business interest
    • If litter is bought there then provide facilities for disposal
Combined Sewerage Overflows
  • CSO (combined sewage overflow) spills occur more frequently than storm events
    • Capacity of the CSO system is not big enough
  • CSOs: raise awareness of the fact that "you'll see me again"
    • Who would fund this, e.g. the Zero Waste Scotland budget?
Engagement with marine industries and fisheries
  • Accreditation for fish farms etc.
    • Funding for cleanups (already progress on this)
Mechanical tools for litter removal/recovery
  • Physical removal of litter e.g. river grills (need to be WFD compliant)
Encouraging re-use (e.g. deposit/return)
  • Improve communication about how to return things for re-use e.g. fish boxes to port/company addresses
Enforcement and incentives
  • Cameras on boats
    • To much data and who would monitor it?
  • Fly-tipping
    • Report quickly via local community
    • Councils liaise with the police
    • Increase the likelihood/threat of being caught and get cases to court
    • Increase the priority of such cases in court (awareness raising here)
  • Use community service orders
    • Quick process from crime to clean-up
    • Could issue these on beaches? (too few staff)
  • There's an increased need for policing overall
  • Enforcement possible on high use beaches
    • Use targeted fixed penalties
    • Use peer pressure: locals are the enforcers
Costs and funding issues
  • At the moment the public pays
    • Do we know the costs to local government? (reference to KIMO)
    • And what are the environmental costs (e.g. microplastics)
  • Establish the costs and benefits of litter reduction approaches
    • Might release LA funds for other services
    • Use cost savings and service improvements to appeal to the public
Scale, including coordination between local and national scales
  • Different local authority levels of engagement
  • Management needs to be location specific
  • Local variation is important (rural beaches, busier beaches etc)
Litter facilities e.g. type and availability of bins
  • Employ appropriate bins on beaches (e.g. lids to prevent seagulls)
    • Separate waste at these bins (common elsewhere e.g. Australia) and use clear simple signage. ( not effective?)
  • OR, no litter, take home only
  • Rural beaches: use 'litter port'
    • Not for own litter but that picked up, for local involvement e.g. voluntary response at Forvie NNR in partnership with Local Authorities
    • May also have been used on sections of the Fife Coastal path
  • Recycling facilities on beaches
    • Keep it simple e.g. for what's used most on beaches (especially bathing water beaches)
  • Provision of good facilities
    • E.g. large lidded bins (seagulls) because people try to bin litter but facilities poor
  • Or remove bins e.g. this has resulted in a reduction in beach litter on Aberdeenshire beaches
    • Backed up by research by Forestry Commission and National Trust
Dog mess and dog owners
  • Dog owners
    • By-laws relating to removal of mess
    • There's a 'Green dog-walkers scheme' in Fife
How to reduce future inputs of marine litter by source: Maritime industries ( TP)
?
  • Role of IMO, Lloyds (in London)
?
  • Limits to voluntary approaches when referring to point sources
    • Role of management / regulations on pollutants ( SEPA?)
?
  • Oil and gas industry / MARPOL are a UK and EU responsibility
    • Scotland can educate and train where it does not have regulatory responsibility
  • Resourcing is a problem
    • Example of Green Blue to be run by a public agency
    • Versus using a regulatory agency which may be seen as imposed
    • Underscores role of social change
?
  • Innovative options for users - an opportunity?
Awareness raising campaigns and behaviour change tools
  • Education
    • Notices
    • Basic training format in a format that they can digest e.g. financial aspects
    • SOLAS regulations, inclusion for training for seafarers
    • Exploring regulations and policy context for mariners
  • Royal Yachting Association: leisure boating
    • Green Blue education and awareness programme
  • Training is critical
  • Mechanisms to drive improved behaviours (e.g. ILL)
Chain of responsibility
  • Waste: health and safety e.g. lack of compliance with container design, management, wastes
  • Plastics industry sees representational interest: they do not 'own' the waste but it affects the industry's reputation
  • Merchant shipping to small recreational boats, all are problematic
Harbour litter facilities (including KIMO) and shipping legislation
  • Ports and harbours
    • Quality of waste receptacles and infrastructure
    • Training and education
    • EU port based recycling Directive ( ? )
    • Charges and waste management systems
    • Communications between ports
    • Vessels need to report on levels of waste (to MCA)
  • Ports: current reporting only applies to boats over 500t ( ? )
    • Discussion to lower this limit
  • Lack of infrastructure to handle waste (particularly in the south)
  • Expand 'Fishing for Litter', feeling that enough is covered in Scotland ( ? )
  • Crews and harbour staff won't resort litter: is there an opportunity here? Otherwise it's not sorted or recycled
  • Scotland is behind in terms of infrastructure for marinas and ports (e.g. recycling, pump-outs, oil etc)
    • Part of the mooring fee, regardless of use i.e. an incentive to use it
    • Facilities to match options and messages
Engagement with marine industries and fisheries
  • Plastic pellets: Cornish example of high incidence of pellet pollution from shipping freight containers lost overboard
    • "Operation Cleansweep"
    • Voluntary Code of Practice
    • Enforcement?
  • Responsible Fishing Scheme (SeaFish) should cover interplay between environment and the consumer
  • Introduce producer responsibility for nets in the fishing industry
    • Introduce waste/return schemes for when purchasing gear (e.g. nets) leading to civil / community responsibility
  • "over the side is out!"
  • Fishing nets
    • Huge amounts and varying in size
    • What guidance is there over their use?
    • Producer / user relationship
Enforcement and incentives
  • Environmental Protection Act? Scottish Law requires a high burden of proof
  • Surveillance and enforcement is still important
  • Mooring rights (at risk from prosecution ? )
  • Port and harbour controls
Scale, including coordination between local and national scales
  • Regional partnerships / ICZM to tackle litter management
Policy coordination, governance and implementation
  • SOLAS / IMO / UK / Merchant Shipping Act and Marine Conservation Act
  • Recent review Annex 5 of MARPOL
  • What is the legislation for smaller boats?
  • Extension of MARPOL to fishing vessels
  • Marine Act feeding into secondary legislation including OSPAR
  • Marine Act leading to MSFD Des D ( ?? )
  • No clear relationship between the Marine Act and litter
Geographical distribution of marine litter
  • Maritime litter dependent on geography and source
    • Hard to pin down source
    • Proportion is increased where there is increased maritime activity
  • Role of currents versus region (L.A. etc)
  • UNEP reports identify regional differences
Data availability, quality and use
  • MCS is a source of regional data
Issues beyond Scotland's direct influence
  • Lost shipping containers is an EU / UK issue
  • What are other countries doing in marine litter management?
  • Use and look at other cultural examples
Key points from Tavis' groups: Organisation's responsibility Business to encourage customers behaviour Behaviour change required Education in schools Psychology Waste as a resource
How to reduce future inputs of marine litter by source: Land based sources ( EH)
?
  • SRD most offensive items
?
  • Landfill is/will reduce as waste disposal option over time
?
  • Agricultural plastics-silage wrap, polytunnels, ground cover
    • Recycling schemes are needed for this, currently burnt in many areas
?
  • Landfill design and siteing
    • Netting areas
    • Planning for landfills in the coastal zone
    • Include in schools to raise awareness of the issue
?
  • As landfill and packaging costs increase..,…
    • Value of recycling will increase
    • Discount on council tax or other incentive of you recycle
    • Use of a 'stick' may increase dumping
    • Need more education and recognition that impacts of marine litter are from the whole of Scotland
?
  • Mining land fill for high value products
Awareness raising campaigns and behaviour change tools
  • Make waste a resource
    • Recycle, reduce, re use
    • Give waste a value
      • i.e. money for returned plastic bottles
    • need to change attitudes and perception
  • Need ongoing awareness raising of impacts on marine animals
    • Emotive
    • Currently people see little link from their balloon release to marine litter
  • Lack of awareness
    • Need wider litter awareness
    • Holistic approach
    • Everyone can make an easy, small (but significant) change-'do a little, change a lot'
  • Education i.e. Bag it and Bin it to increase awareness
    • Can be very short term, during the campaign only
    • Get it in schools
  • Use of Mum's net and similar to increase awareness
  • Approx 47% of people admit to dropping litter regularly
  • More advertising and use of shocking images i.e. KIMO ppt
    • Cinema
    • Impacts on wildlife
    • Litter and the local area overlay images
  • 'Bag for Life' level of investment and impact needed for each issue/source
  • Use of virals and social networking sites
    • Cheap
    • High number of users
  • Lack of current awareness/understanding
  • As shown in the BBC blogs on related articles
  • Zero Waste
    • Placing value/cost on single use products
    • Voluntary
    • Incentives; Tesco points for products returned
    • Germany-deposit on bottles via reverse vending machines
      • Encourages others to return them as the value is not limited to the user
  • Plastic bag free towns/villages
    • Join up and expand current initiative
  • Make accommodation providers be more proactive in raising awareness
  • Use of Facebook to name and shame
Chain of responsibility
  • Waste oil barrels
    • Containers should be stamped/marked to enable the source to be identified
    • May be able to trace currently but who does that and how is it enforced?
  • Engage business to take responsibility
    • Focus on outlets
    • More engagement needed i.e. love where you live-Macdonalds, Wriggleys and Pepsi buy in
  • Who is responsible?
    • UK Gov, SG, Scottish Water, packaging and manufacturers
      • Scope, but funding needs to be available
  • Packaging
    • Onus on companies to take back packaging
    • Some charges, others do not
    • Responsible disposal
    • Design out excessive packaging especially in toys etc from China and similar countries
    • Packaging by weight has decreased but now more smaller parts
    • Adds to premium products i.e. whisky (bottle, paper, card tube)
Engagement with marine industries and fisheries
  • Fish boxes from processors blown away and break up
  • Fishing nets mended on quayside, hundreds of fragments left
    • Education for fishers/ports
    • Clean up before it enters the water
    • Provision/facility in place to prevent
Alternatives to plastics / product development and reduced packaging
  • Product development
  • Degradable
  • Reduce packaging
    • Alternatives to polystyrene-what can you do with it once used?
    • E.g. use of fungus in USA for packaging
    • Key people involved i.e. retailers
    • Get it back for recycling not just landfill
    • Electronics retailers i.e. Dixons take away packaging
      • But a charge for this in some cases
  • Minimise single use items
    • Put a value on them
Costs and funding issues
  • Make people aware of the true costs
Litter facilities e.g. type and availability of bins
  • Plastic bottles/packaging
    • Clarification on what can and cannot be recycled (kerbside)
    • Not standard across Scotland
    • Recycling centres sometimes full
  • More bins does not necessarily decrease litter
    • Behavioural patterns
    • In Argyll and Bute bins ask you to pick up litter as you walk and put in the next bin
Policy coordination, governance and implementation
  • Ban single use carrier bags
  • Develop the Strategy at both industry and operational level
  • Agricultural sources i.e. silage wrap
    • Tackle via SRDP and cross compliance?
  • Marine planning may provide an opportunity to coordinate but there is no direct link to marine litter
    • May come at regional level
  • Ban sanitary products
    • Including disposable nappies, move to real nappies
    • Find alternatives
    • Costs ££££ for Scottish Water
  • Balloons
    • Banned in Canada
    • Can we ban across Scotland
    • Fine companies who sell 'release kits'
    • Balloons are not degradable
    • Paper lantern alternatives have wire and tea lights
    • Use of trading standards
    • Guidelines needed form plastics industry-what is biodegradable, marine env, photochemical
      • Confusing, often misleading for public i.e. biodegradable in 400 yrs in North Sea
    • Role of SG/ UK Gov; what can be used in what situation re biodegradable
      • Labelling issues
    • If they were recognised as a source of litter it would help with enforcement
    • MCS to/will ask for a voluntary ban on releases at LA level
      • To include fireworks and paper lanterns
      • Need to target manufacturing here
  • Plastic bag levy
  • Litter now part of the Access code-responsible access
  • One size fits all may not be a solution
Monitoring litter
  • Monitoring needed at the regional level to identify sources
Recycling
  • Recycling/reprocessing
    • Some not available in Scotland
    • Requires investment
    • Facilities are expensive and have a long pay back time
Top points
  • Balloon releases
  • A lack of advertising and awareness
  • Packaging
    • Reduce or find alternatives for
  • Give waste a value

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