Three facts about the Mediterranean experience in tackling plastic pollution

At INC-2 in Paris, as negotiators were poring over the preparation of an international legally binding instrument to prevent plastic pollution, a PAMEx side-event held on 31 May 2023 adopted a joint position of 12 countries and five regional organizations calling for the Mediterranean experience in tackling plastic pollution to be considered in the negotiations.

Thanks to cooperation among the Contracting Parties (21 coastal countries and the European Union), catalyzed by the UNEP/Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP)-Barcelona Convention System, the Mediterranean region has accumulated significant experience in formulating and deploying action at multiple levels to turn off the tap on plastic pollution.

Here are three facts about what the Mediterranean has accomplished in this field:

The Mediterranean has pioneered a robust normative framework

The Contracting Parties have adopted two regional plans targeting marine litter, including plastic pollution, as a means to shore up the implementation of their commitments under relevant Protocols to the Barcelona Convention.

The legally-binding Regional Plan on Marine Litter Management in the Mediterranean was adopted in 2013 and updated in 2021. The amendments introduced in 2021 commit the Contracting Parties to taking bold measures in four areas: using economic instruments (such as fiscal incentives to curb pollution), promoting circular economy, curtailing land-based and sea-based sources of marine litter, and pursuing ambitious targets for the reduction of plastic waste and microplastics.

Adopted in 2016, the Regional Action Plan on Sustainable Consumption and Production encompasses a set of concrete measures opening pathways to the large-scale adoption of the circular economy in the Mediterranean.

Both regional plans are grounded in the findings of monitoring and assessment of the marine and coastal environment.

On 11 May 2022 Tunisia announced the launch of a nationwide communication campaign aiming to ensure citizen participation in the country's efforts to phase out single-use plastic bags. The campaign titled "Let us be responsible" set about explaining the aims of Decree 2020-32, by virtue of which all single-use plastic bags are banned with a few well-defined exceptions.

Morocco is in the process of implementing an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system for Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles widely used for beverage packaging. EPR holds manufacturers accountable for their products' entire life cycle and, by doing so, incentivizes the reduction of waste through adequate product design and the set-up of recycling infrastructure. This includes the implementation of a Deposit Refund System (DRS) to ensure high-quality collection and recycling. The system is already delivering on one of its major promises: building capacity within local municipalities, which operate at the forefront of urban waste management.

A study commissioned by SCP/RAC-MedWaves, the UNEP/MAP Regional Activity Centre for Sustainable Consumption and Production, indicates that the impact of implementing EPR and DRS in four Mediterranean countries would be equivalent to preventing the leakage of an estimated 1,700 truckloads of plastic waste a year into the environment.

In Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, SCP/RAC-MedWaves is putting forward a harmonized approach to engaging with hotels and restaurants in the reduction of single-use plastics. Several coastal municipalities are experimenting with greener public procurement policies.

Since 2016, ten Mediterranean Countries (Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Libya, Montenegro, Morocco and Tunisia) have launched initiatives involving citizen participation, including the Fishing for litter and Adopt-a-beach measures. In addition to retrieving copious amounts of litter from the marine and coastal environment, these initiatives have harvested data, including through citizen science, and helped shape litter-free (and plastic-free) mindsets among the public.

Meanwhile, green-minded Mediterranean entrepreneurs and start-ups are gradually introducing viable alternatives to plastic packaging and other sources of pollution. The Switchers Support Programme is catalysing sustainability-oriented business innovation to fast-track the transition to circular economy models across sectors and value chains.

Learn more:World Environment Day 2023: Solutions to plastic pollution Sustainable consumption and production and the circular economy in the Mediterranean