Sustainable Solutions for Marine Litter Prevention and Management

Dear Colleagues,

Marine litter, with millions of tons discharged per year, is a recognized global environmental problem that affects the natural environment and living organisms. They are solid materials that end up in the environment from a plurality of sources present on land (about 80% of marine litter come from the land) or on water. These materials float on the water surface or column and settle on the seabed or on the coastline. They damage the health of ecosystems, accumulating and transporting toxic agents that kill living organisms and also impact on human health, through microcomponents that can concentrate along the food chain. Furthermore, they are the cause of significant economic impacts, including clean-up costs, reduction of fishing yields, and reduction in tourist services and recreation activities. The impacts of marine litter are multiple and affect all communities, both coastal and inland.

World leaders increasingly recognize the magnitude of the problem, so much so that they adopt action plans on marine litter and global sustainability strategies and reference objectives that intend to promote a significant reduction in the quantities in the short and medium term. Numerous efforts are also being launched at the local level, for example, in Europe, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive includes marine litter as an indicator for the good environmental status of marine waters, while with Directive (EU) 2019/904 on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment, the European Commission wants to promote circular approaches for plastics to reduce their quantities. Indeed, it is precisely the circular economy approaches that have the potential to reduce the quantities of marine litter, favoring a more rational use of resources and favoring an alternative use of materials that are now considered as waste.

It is recognized that the problems associated with marine litter are attributable to critical elements during its entire life cycle, from the design of products, their use, maintenance and repair, and waste management, up to the need to remove and dispose of them when they become marine litter. Therefore, this constitutes an interdisciplinary problem that can embrace engineering, economic, environmental, biological, social, managerial, and political disciplines.

Despite the knowledge regarding the main causes and possible solutions offering an interesting benchmark, there is no single simple solution, but many possible alternatives are described in the literature, which, from a technical, economic, social, environmental, and governance point of view, can contribute to improving the situation, as well as best practices and case studies that can represent sources of inspiration for other territories and for their stakeholders.

Therefore, this Special Issue aims to provide an interdisciplinary debate focused on technical, economic, organizational, regulatory, environmental, and social drivers, as well as on the identification of good practices applicable to the prevention of the accumulation of marine litter or to its correct management, promoting approaches and circular economy solutions. Articles may include (but are not limited to) the following topics:

• Plants and technologies for marine litter treatment and recovery;
• Examples and good practices of circular economy and evidence of the possible uses of marine litter;
• Logistic solutions for the collection and transfer of marine litter;
• Studies and characterization of the marine-litter supply chain;
• The management of territorial good practices;
• The study of the distribution and characterization of the types of marine litter in the environment;
• Source apportionment assessments;
• Studies of environmental, economic, and social impacts of marine litter on the natural environment, on tourist destinations, and on economic activities;
• Stakeholder engagement, training, and awareness;
• Local policies and strategies, including the evaluation of effects and consequences.

Dr. Samuele Marinello
Prof. Dr. Rita Gamberini
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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• marine litter
• source
• supply chain
• impact
• waste
• plastic
• logistic
• sustainability
• recycling and recovery
• circular economy
• blue economy
• best practices
• management