The northern part of the Swedish west coast has been severely affected by marine litter for several decades. The currents and the predominant wind direction transport large quantities of litter from the North Atlantic, the North Sea and the English Channel into Skagerrak, where it is washed ashore on the rocky coastline. The coastline was affected to some extent by the pellets from the Trans Carrier incident. These pellets were cleaned up as part of the regular beach-cleaning scheme and no compensation was paid by the shipping company in contrast to the situation in Norway.
Legislation
The Environmental Code regulates all handling of plastic pellets during the entire lifecycle, from pellet to product to waste. A set of rules of conduct (Chapter 2) require all operators independent of the actors size and type, to take precautionary measures, by e.g. getting sufficient knowledge about the risk for human health and the environment, locating their activity in a place causing the least environmental impact, adhering to the substitution principle through, when applicable, replacing chemical products and chemicals with alternatives that have fewer negative environmental impacts, and using best available technology (Karlsson et al., 2018; SFS 1998:808).
In the Act on measures against pollution from vessels (Chapter 1, 2§), ‘hazardous substances’ is defined as ‘oil and other substances who, if they are released to the sea, any other water area or in the air, can imply risks to human health, harm to marine fauna and flora, harm to esthetic or recreational values or disturb other legitimate use of the sea or other water areas’. Chapter 7, 3§ states that emissions of hazardous substances shall be reported, and that it is mandatory to give necessary information on vessels and cargo to prevent and control emissions of such substances. Chapter 10 deals with liability issues. (SFS 1980:424) The act is further elaborated in the Regulation on measures against pollution from vessels (SFS 1980:789) and in the Directions and General Advice on measures against Pollution from Vessels from the Swedish Transport Agency (TSFS 2010).
The Civil Protection Act defines the different branches of society’s rescue services and the responsibilities of each of the branches (SFS 2003:778).
Sweden has not yet ratified the HNS convention.
Preparedness
The Swedish Transport Authority (Transportstyrelsen) formulates regulations, examines and grants permits, as well as exercising supervision principally of Swedish and foreign vessels sailing in Swedish waters. The authority also analyses accidents and near-misses. The Swedish Transport Authority is the government agency responsible for the administration of ships registered in Sweden (Transportstyrelsen, 2022).
According to the Regulation on Protection against Accidents, the Swedish Coast Guard (Kustbevakningen) is responsible for environmental rescue at sea when oil or other harmful substances have reached the water or when there is an imminent risk for this. The responsibility concerns Sweden’s maritime territory and economic zone, the three major lakes Vänern, Vättern and Mälaren as well as operations outside Sweden’s maritime territory where Sweden has a responsibility according to international agreements (Copenhagen agreement, 2022b).
The Coast Guard’s Program for Environmental Rescue at Sea describes more in detail the function and the national and international coordination. As preventive measures, the Coast Guard inspects hazardous goods in ports and perform maritime surveillance from vessels and from the air. The Joint Rescue Coordination Center (JRCC) in Gothenburg is standby 24/7 for rescue operations, and there are always several surveillance vessels and environmental protection vessels in operation at sea (Kustbevakningen, 2019).
The Swedish Maritime Administration (Sjöfartsverket) is responsible for saving people in distress at sea. In case of major accidents, where there are environmental risks involved, operations are coordinated with the Coast Guard. The Civil Contingencies Agency (Myndigheten för Samhällsskydd och Beredskap, MSB) supervises the coordination between national authorities involved in rescue services. It is involved in the planning of environmental rescue at sea, for example in the national coordination group for oil protection. The Armed Forces do not have a formal role in environmental rescue operations but can in certain circumstances provide staff and material resources. Sweden’s Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) can assist with prognoses for the proliferation of oil spills and other emissions at sea (Kustbevakningen, 2019).
The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Naturvårdsverket) coordinates Sweden’s environmental work. The agency has developed a “Roadmap for the sustainable use of plastics”, calling for global efforts to reduce plastic leakage to the nature (Naturvårdsverket, 2021).
The Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management (Havs- och Vattenmyndigheten) implements a cohesive marine and water management policy on behalf of the Swedish government, working with issues of conservation, restoration and sustainable utilisation of lakes, watercourses, seas and fisheries resources (Havs- och Vattenmyndigheten, 2020).
County Administrative Boards (Länsstyrelserna) represent the national government in each of Sweden’s 21 regions. For larger cleanup operations, involving several municipalities, the county administrative board can take the lead in the operation and coordinate the activities by the municipalities concerned. The Coast Guard also cooperates with the County Administrative Boards in regional planning issues, and during rescue operations in prioritization of valuable areas and objects (Kustbevakningen, 2019).
Clean-up
Cleanup operations on the coast and in ports are, according to the Regulation on Protection against Accidents, a responsibility for the municipalities (Copenhagen agreement, 2022b).
Due to the constant inflow of marine litter on the Swedish west coast, beach cleaning is a permanent activity in many coastal municipalities along this part of the coast. It is carried out with some national co-financing through the EPA (15 million SEK for the entire country in 2023). It is often organized with a few professionals helped by unemployed people or young interns and assisted by volunteer organisations. Approximately 200 tonnes of litter are collected every year on the Swedish west coast (Västkuststiftelsen, 2022a).
The West Coast Trust (Västkuststiftelsen) is a public organisation responsible for the maintenance of nature reserves in western Sweden. Since 2015 it coordinates twelve municipalities from the Norwegian border down to Kungsbacka south of Gothenburg in their work with beach-cleaning and in their applications for financing. Because of winds and currents, this is the part of Sweden’s coastline most affected by marine litter. The trust provides a joint digital beach-cleaning map (Strandstädarkartan), organises exchange of experiences between municipalities and tries to lobby national authorities for financing (Interview with Florina Lachmann on 7 February 2023).
The Keep Sweden Tidy Foundation (Håll Sverige Rent) is a non-profit organization that promotes recycling and combats litter through public awareness campaigns and environmental education. The organisation has with support from Statistics Sweden and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency developed methods for measuring litter in a number of environments, including beaches. It provides methods and tools to facilitate the strategic work of the municipalities. Håll Sverige Rent, together with sister organisations in the other Nordic countries, organizes the Nordic Coastal Cleanup Day, where people gather to help save the coasts from litter. Håll Sverige Rent has also initiated the Ocean Alliance, gathering companies and municipalities with the aim of reducing the use of plastics and restoring the sea from plastic pollution (Håll Sverige Rent, 2022).
There is no clear responsibility for acute plastic pollution. When the Trans Carrier incident happened, no agency had the responsibility, routines or budget to handle the acute problem. It was dealt with as part of the regular beach cleaning. No one reported to the police. Subsequently, Sweden did not get any compensation from the shipping company (Interview with Florina Lachmann on 7 February 2023). According to a representative of the Coast Guard “there is nothing about plastic pellet pollution in the regulations, but we would of course act if a release of plastic pellets would threaten important functions in society, for example risk to block the cooling water system of a nuclear power plant” (Interview with Johan Genestig 24 November 2022).