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Massive floating islands of plastics debris in international waters

The European Commission is to investigate removing plastic from seas and oceans worldwide, amidst growing concern about massive floating islands of plastic debris in international waters.

The initiative follows a call by the Dutch government at the European Union (EU) Council of Ministers for action, which could involve further pressure to reduce the use of plastics in packaging, sacks and bags. The Netherlands is particularly concerned about reports of these islands in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

It was supported by several other delegations and the Commission itself: Brussels has asked the 27 member governments of the EU to contribute ideas on fighting the problem.

A Dutch report to the council claimed that "there is least one vast floating mass of waste in the Pacific Ocean, most of which is plastic". Noting this has been dubbed ‘plastic soup’ in the international media, the Netherlands’ paper stressed recent confirmation of a similar expanse in the Atlantic Ocean.

"The full extent of the problem is still unknown. The drifting mass of plastic and rubber in the Pacific Ocean alone occupies an area roughly 34 times the size of the Netherlands," noted the report.

It stressed that the "scope and complexity of ‘plastic soup’ [meant] there are no simple solutions" regarding clean-up – the report called for swift research into reducing plastic use as well as removing the waste. "We need to ensure that the plastic cycle is closed as much as possible," said the paper.

The Dutch government has also raised the problem at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).