The newly-published EU Coastline Macro Litter Trend report found that the amount of marine macro litter (items bigger than 2.5 cm) in the EU coastline has dropped by 29 % between the baseline period (2015-2016) and the assessment period (2020-2021).

While the largest reduction in terms of percentages is seen at the Baltic Sea (45%), major efforts at the Mediterranean and the Black Sea have led to impressive reductions in absolute numbers of litter items on the beaches (figure below).

On the EU coastlines, single-use plastic was reduced by 40 %. Fisheries-related items decreased by 20 % and plastic bags were down by 20 %. This achievement is the result of multilateral, national, regional, and citizen efforts triggered by the Marine Strategy Framework Directive.

However, this encouraging news does not allow for complacency. The median values of total coastline marine macro litter quantity in many European regions remain high and exceed the agreed threshold value (20 items per 100 m) for coastline macro litter. The European average in 2020-2021 was 203 items per 100 m.

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