Can the Basel and Stockholm Conventions provide a global framework to reduce the impact of marine plastic litter?

Abstract

The issues resulting from plastic waste in the marine environment have highlighted a general failure to control this pollutant on both land and at sea. The international community is now realising that the increasing growth in the amount of plastic pollution in the ocean is reaching a critical point. This has led to a questioning of the current international governance arrangements for marine litter. The environmental and socioeconomic impacts of marine litter are a symptom of policy failures and greater action is required "upstream" by industry on land to reduce these impacts. The Stockholm and Basel Conventions are international binding instruments that offer the best opportunity to reduce the impacts of plastics and plastic waste globally. We examine weaknesses in how hazardous wastes are categorised and the options to close the gaps in the current framework that allow for and keep pace with innovation. Both conventions are found to be inadequate to manage the entire lifecycle of all plastic applications. Options are suggested for strengthening the international legal and policy framework in order to reduce on a global scale 1) the . quantity of plastic waste generated, and 2) the . hazard of plastics throughout their lifecycle. Disciplines Arts and Humanities | Law Can the Basel and Stockholm Conventions provide a global framework to reduce the impact of marine plastic litter? AbstractThe issues resulting from plastic waste in the marine environment have highlighted a general failure to control this pollutant on both land and at sea. The international community is now realising that the increasing growth in the amount of plastic pollution in the ocean is reaching a critical point. This has led to a questioning of the current international governance arrangements for marine litter. The environmental and socio-economic impacts of marine litter are a symptom of policy failures and greater action is required "upstream" by industry on land to reduce these impacts. The Stockholm and Basel Conventions are international binding instruments that offer the best opportunity to reduce the impacts of plastics and plastic waste globally. We examine weaknesses in how hazardous wastes are categorised and the options to close the gaps in the current framework that allow for and keep pace with innovation. Both conventions are found to be inadequate to manage the entire lifecycle of all plastic applications. Options are suggested for strengthening the international legal and policy framework in order to reduce on a global scale 1) the quantity of plastic waste generated, and 2) the hazard of plastics throughout their lifecycle.

Successful Blue Economy Examples With an Emphasis on International Perspectives

“…Microplastics are important component of marine litter, and also one of major global marine pollution problems (Arthur et al, 2009;Raubenheimer and McIlgorm, 2018). Microplastics are mainly caused by human activities (Cole et al, 2011).…”

Microplastics Pollution and Regulation

“…This is something that currently is not possible to do unless the plastic item in question contains POPs, which in turn would be regulated by the Stockholm Convention on POPs. The plastic itself falls under "other" waste in the Basel Convention, which requires special attention, but mostly does not qualify as hazardous (Raubenheimer and McIlgorm 2018). As such, the overlap, interplay, and limitations of and between these different treaties make the field of governance difficult to navigate.…”

A Trip Upstream to Mitigate Marine Plastic Pollution – A Perspective Focused on the MSFD and WFD

“…In the proceeding sections, we argue that current aquatic legislative instruments are limited in either their geographic scope, monitoring capacity, or implementation processes. Consequently, the legislative regime does not reflect the role that rivers play in MPP and is therefore incapable of reducing the quantity and hazard of marine litter at a European scale (Raubenheimer and McIlgorm, 2018). Rochman et al (2016) maintain that further high-quality research is necessary for precise and accurate policy guidance; we believe such evidence is now emerging, pointing to rivers as primary transport vectors of MPP to the ocean.…”