The European Commission will present by the end of 2017 a Strategy on Plastics as part of the Circular Economy Action Plan; one of its components will address leakages of plastic to the environment.

As inputs for the Strategy, the Commission has launched studies investigating all sources of micro-plastics and options to reduce their emissions.

A public consultation to collect the views of stakeholders and citizens on the policy options to reduce micro-plastics entering the marine environment was launched, inter alia, to support one of these studies. Relevant information is available at: https://ec.europa.eu/info/consultations/public-consultation-investigating-options-reducing-releases-environment-microplastics_en

Considering the importance of the issue to marine biodiversity we encourage you to participate in this consultation and disseminate the information further. Thank you in advance for your attention and contribution. Click here to download the consultation

This is an interesting article showing a major source and a solution to micro-plastics arising from clothing. We need to protect our oceans and marine life. This is a simple idea that could have a fairly quick impact while manufacturers look for long term solutions.