Marine Plastics Pollution

The document analyzes the scale of plastic pollution in China, noting that China's 2017 plastic production was approximately 75 million tons. It details the EU's comprehensive approach, including the Waste Framework Directive and the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive, which utilize Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) to shift financial and operational burdens to producers. The paper highlights EU targets under 'Plastics 2030' to make all plastic packaging reusable or recyclable by 2030. It concludes by recommending that China upgrade its legal systems, adopt whole-process management from production to disposal, and cooperate with the EU on transboundary waste treatment and global governance.

• China is a major global producer and consumer of plastics; in 2017, its production reached approximately 75 million tons, representing about one quarter of the global total. The country also imports between 25 million and 28 million tons annually and consumes 100 million tons per year.
• Marine plastic pollution in China is widespread across its coastal waters, including the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, East China Sea, and the South China Sea. Monitoring in 2017 showed average microplastic densities in surface water of 0.08 particle/m3, peaking at 1.26 particles/m3.
• The EU manages plastic waste through a hierarchy of prevention, preparing for re-use, recycling, recovery, and disposal. Key legislation includes the Waste Framework Directive and the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (PPWD), the latter of which restricts heavy metals like lead, mercury, cadmium, and hexavalent chromium to concentrations of no more than 100 ppm.
• Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a central EU policy that requires producers to take financial and operational responsibility for products and packaging throughout their life cycle. European producers spend approximately €3.1 billion annually on EPR solutions.
• The 'Plastics 2030' strategy aims for all plastic packaging on the EU market to be reusable or cost-effectively recyclable by 2030. The strategy also targets a fourfold increase in sorting and recycling capacity compared to 2015 levels by 2030, which is expected to create 200,000 new jobs.
• The EU is taking specific measures to address microplastics, including restricting intentionally added microplastics in products via the European Chemicals Agency and reviewing the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive to improve capture in treatment plants.

APA

ClientEarth (2019). Marine Plastics Pollution. https://www.clientearth.org/media/wfuhx2jf/05-shortpaper_marineplasticpollution_nov2024.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. Marine Plastics Pollution. 2019. https://www.clientearth.org/media/wfuhx2jf/05-shortpaper_marineplasticpollution_nov2024.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=ClientEarth |title=Marine Plastics Pollution |date=March 2019 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/wfuhx2jf/05-shortpaper_marineplasticpollution_nov2024.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clientearth2019marine, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{Marine Plastics Pollution}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2019}, month = mar, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/wfuhx2jf/05-shortpaper_marineplasticpollution_nov2024.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }