Derived from the conclusions, the following recommendations are proposed which are divided over the international, regional and the national level. This has been done since each level differs in magnitude and the strategic approach needed to improve the situation.
Create by means of an assessment insight in the magnitude and locations of acute plastic pollution hot spots and especially those of pellet loss.
Decide on an internationally accepted definition for acute plastic pollution for application in international and national pollution control acts and policies. A proposal is presented in this report.
Classify pellets officially as hazardous goods at UN level, so that they are covered by stricter regulations for transport, for example how they are packaged and contained, how containers are labelled and maintained, how the carrier is notified so that containers containing plastic pellets can be identified, where the containers are stored on board the ship, etc. Including plastic pellets in international conventions would be helpful as it would automatically include them also in national legislation on dangerous goods.
A supply chain approach as proposed in detail by e.g. OSPAR (OSPAR, 2018), Fidra (Fidra, 2020) and others. It is important that all companies involved in making, using or transporting pellets need to commit to following specific and standardized guidelines that prevent pellet loss throughout all stages of making plastic products. The guidelines must be respected for which purpose these companies must report and be audited on how successfully they are implementing these guidelines. All potential measures should be combined with efficient monitoring programmes and accountability following unintentional plastic spills. Such mandatory guidelines can be based on the voluntary guidelines already existing in Operation Clean Sweep. They should be developed in close cooperation with the industry and other stakeholders, so that they are efficient, realistic, easy to follow and control and do not impose unnecessary costs or bureaucracy.
The reporting system on cases of incidents needs to be improved – from ship to port, from port to responsible agencies, as well as between agencies in different countries – to give the best possible conditions for containing the spill, predicting how the pellets will spread and preparing for coastal clean-up without losing valuable time.
General awareness of the pellets pollution problem should be raised, transport companies and shipowners encouraged to take action also before legislation is in place, to train their staff properly. All companies in the plastics value chain should be encouraged to join the Operation Clean Sweep programme that must be regulated stringently.
The problem of APP should be recognized in European plastic strategies and in the upcoming Global Plastics Treaty.
Incorporate acute plastic pollution in a legal framework with concrete actions for preparedness, international coordination and joint actions. This could be included in the Bonn Agreement, Copenhagen Agreement, the Arctic Council or the Helsinki Agreement.
Prevention is key, hence, measures that could be considered regarding prevention of APP in the shipping industry are:
Revise the existing technical and legal regulations for container ships regarding the design limits of cargo securing equipment, approved loading and stability conditions and the consideration of shallow water effects and speed on ship motions and resulting accelerations and forces.
Evaluate and assess possible technical solutions that can assist the captain/crew in the prevention and, if an accident happens, the detection of the loss of containers and to propose international standards for implementation of such solutions.
Raise awareness and develop guidelines for the Masters and Navigational Officers on risks and actions to be taken when cargo is lost when sailing with dangerous cargo particularly near sensitive areas.
Encourage the development of improved clean-up technology of plastic pellets in water environments, on beaches and shores.
Prepare an acute plastic pollution contingency plan nationally, including how to:
Organise the clean-up operations of acute plastic pollution and possibly a combined oil and chemical spill. The clean-up of APP should be led by the one and same governmental agency that is responsible for handling other forms of acute marine pollution. The approach and emergency plans used when working with larger oil spills also work with this kind of pollution.
Communicate with the responsible polluters, insurance companies and other stakeholders. By using one single contact point. This makes it easier to establish common goals for the operation, secure compensation of cost, etc.
Inform and acquire information from the public.
Coordinate communication with and emergency support from neighbouring and other countries of relevance.
Implement surveillance and salvage of the wreck and containers (if present) and the area affected by acute plastic pollution.
Assess the environmental damage over the short and longer-term.
Support impacted economic sectors, particularly coastal fishing communities and tourism industry.
Investigate legal and financial issues associated with the incident.
Address filing of compensation claims.
When an acute pollution incident occurs, organise a rapid response, clean up the plastic before it relocates. This, in turn, requires preparedness to mobilize people on short notice. Ensure that responsible authorities have links to those structures and schemes for coastal clean-up that exist in each country, and that can mobilize local communities, associations, schools and volunteers on short notice. Promote and support such structures/schemes. Ensure that they know how to handle nurdle spills. In a clean-up operation it is valuable to hold regular meetings where the different stakeholders can share their knowledge of methods and experiences along the way.
Ensure that there is an interactive reporting system available to relevant actors and to the public where finds, photographs, material collected, etc can be entered.
There should be preparedness to analyse the plastics loss. There are many different types, some more harmful than others. The analysis is also an important part of finding the source of the. By analysing the plastic and through industry networks it is possible to see where it was produced.
Every country should ratify relevant conventions on pollution, including those that (will) address acute plastic pollution.
The Nordic countries should be in the frontline to spread best practice globally, and when possible introduce stricter regulations before international rules are in place.