Legislation
The central legislation is the Act on protection against pollution at sea and on the coast. It covers both prevention and preparedness. It is a general act, so there is nothing specific on plastics. Acute pollution of ocean and beach is defined as pollution that happens suddenly and requires action. There is also a general law on pollution prevention with tools regarding permits and how to prevent pollution from industries. The law was changed in 2020 with stricter rules on single-use plastic. There is a law on environmental responsibility, regulating what will happen in cases of pollution. The law on waste management is also relevant (Interview with Katrín Sóley Bjarnadóttir and Halla Einarsdóttir on 13 Dec 2022).
Policies
An action plan on plastics was adopted in 2020. Six of the actions focus on plastics at sea: coordinated research on marine plastic pollution, improved sewage treatment, reduce the discharge of microplastics with surface water, restrictions on the marketing of cosmetics containing microplastics, cleaning Icelandic beaches, and better recovery of lost fishing gear (Umhverfis– og auðlindaráðuneytið, 2020).
Preparedness and cleanup
The Environment Agency of Iceland (Umhverfisstofnun, UST) is responsible for preparedness and response of acute oil and chemical pollution at sea and on the coast outside ports areas. The responsibility within port areas rests with the respective port director. Port directors can ask the UST for assistance and the UST may assume the leadership of an operation if deemed necessary (Copenhagen agreement, 2022b). The role of different authorities (Icelandic Coast Guard, Traffic Authority, and Police) is described in “Action plan for response to acute pollution outside port areas and the use of ship refuge (Environment Agency of Iceland, 2022). Beach cleaning is carried out in many places by NGOs, schools and sport clubs. A project will start in 2023, where organisations involved in beach cleaning can apply for grants. The environmental agency has rangers with local knowledge based in 10 different places around Iceland.