Microplastics are the focus of negotiations prior to the next major environmental summit

Scientists have warned of the growing threat of plastic pollution around the planet, but behind-the-scenes negotiations on a European law to manage pellets and other plastic products suggest the difficulty of reaching consensus.

“The more we know, the worse the situation seems,” said Winnie Lau, a researcher at the Pew Charitable Trusts who presented a study today on the magnitude of the problem at a forum organized by the European Commission. About a third of all plastic pollution is caused by microplastics -objects up to 5 mm in size- that are either manufactured with that size or are derived from the decomposition of other larger products.

Lau estimates the amount of microplastics released in 2019 in about 11.4 million tons. The main sources are tires and paintfollowed by mechanical recycling, plastic ‘pellets’, textiles and particles added to cleaning and personal care products.

“To give an idea of ​​the magnitude of the problem, it is as if a shipping container fully loaded with microbeads is dumped into nature every two minutes,” Lau said.

Microplastics are everywhere, even inside our bodies

Richard Thompsonan academic known for coining the term ‘microplastics’ in a research paper in 2004, has just published a review of the research that has been done in this field in the 20 years since. “What science is showing us is that microplastic pollution is literally everywherefrom the highest mountain to the deepest ocean,” Thomson said. “And, of course, They are also present in all species on the planet.”.

All of this will be on the minds of negotiators when they meet in Busan, South Korea, on November 25 for the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee (dubbed INC-5). The main objective of this is to prepare a international treaty on plastic pollution.

“A comprehensive systemic approach is essential,” Thompson said. “But that also has to be guided by independent scientific evidence, which is not compromised in any way by conflicts of interest arising from industrial commercial benefits.”

In recent years, the EU has stepped up its fight against plastic pollution: ban on disposable plastic items, such as straws, cutlery and glasses, more recently has been added the gradual elimination of a series of “intentionally added” microplastics, in particular the rubber infill of sports fieldsmade from shredded tires.

The recent dumping of ‘pellets’ in Galicia has alarmed the planet

Government delegates are working on a first proposal to legislate on the accidental expulsion of microplastics, as in the case of the ‘pellets’ that devastated the Galician estuaries a year ago.

But Hungary’s attempt to advance negotiations failed on Tuesday (October 22), with national delegates divided over a proposal that would exclude maritime shipments of plastic pellets from the control system and sanctions of the proposed regulation.

Several EU countries – including Germany, Greece, Italy and Poland– have made it clear that they oppose the inclusion of maritime transport in EU law, arguing that the issue should be dealt with by the International Maritime Organizationa UN agency.

The activists, aware of the recent large-scale spill that reached the coasts of Galicia, criticized that governments have not expanded the Commission’s proposal to include maritime transport of pelletsas agreed by the European Parliament.

“The environmental disaster in Galicia, caused by the loss of pellet containers at sea, illustrated the urgent need to incorporate maritime transport into the Regulation,” he declared. Lucie Padovanihead of European policy on plastic pollution at the NGO Surfrider.

The EU executive itself is clearly aware of the problem. “It is clear that, especially with the latest accidents in EU waters, action is necessary,” he declared. Michael Krusbergpolicy officer at the Commission’s Environment Directorate, who worked on the original proposal.