After a flurry of activity to address the problem of marine litter (see Plasteurope.com of 21.02.2011 and of 24.03.2011), the “Waste Free Oceans” (WFO, www.wastefreeoceans.eu) initiative, coorganised by the European Plastics Converters Association (EuPC, Brussels / Belgium; www.plasticsconverters.eu), has scheduled several pilot schemes for Q4 in problematic coastal areas in France, Belgium and The Netherlands.

Launched in May this year, Waste Free Oceans has since evolved into an independent foundation headed by European parliamentarian Anna Rosbach. Thanks to more awareness of the huge problem of marine litter – circulating in the so-called Pacific Garbage Patch (see Plasteurope.com of 25.08.2009) or the Atlantic (see Plasteurope.com of 22.04.2010) – “support for this pragmatic solution to deal with floating marine litter has risen significantly not only in Europe but across the globe,” WFO says.

The gist of the project is to collect marine debris and recycle it in the regions where the problem is most prominent. By 2012, the initiative will also be joined by the UK, Portugal, Germany, Poland, Greece and the Baltic Sea region. Major future events include November’s annual meeting of European plastics recyclers in Barcelona / Spain, which will address the issue of marine litter and discuss ways to handle it.