Fishing for Plastic : EU Targets Marine Pollution

Single-use plastics increasingly are found in every marine area imaginable – frozen in Artic sea ice, stranded on remote island beaches, sunken along the deepest, loneliest places of the ocean floor, and agonizingly obstructing the insides and mercilessly entangling the bodies of hundreds of marine life species. Recognizing the grave implications of plastic litter for the ocean environment, coastal biodiversity, and human health, the European Union (EU) is moving ahead with a robust legislative effort to address plastic marine litter. This article summarizes the EU's recent adoption of the Single-use Plastics Directive as part of the EU's Plastics Strategy and Circular Economy Action Plan