Increasing concentrations of plastic in our environment are a growing threat to ecosystems and human health.
The production of the maps is based on data from hundreds of data providers and monitoring efforts to gather
marine litter information scattered over Europe. The maps show, among others, the spatial and temporal
distribution of beach and seafloor litter based on official monitoring surveys and wider sampling efforts across
European countries. The types of litter are also identified, from plastics to glass, wood and metal, and from fishing
related items to land-based products such as cigarettes.
The first step in the production of the new marine litter maps consisted in collecting and storing beach and seafloor
litter data in the EMODnet Chemistry Marine Litter Database, which is the first pan-European Litter Database. A
number of processing and harmonisation steps were applied to the data, which is explained in detail in the metadata
available for download. Finally, the harmonised data were processed using a number of data management and
computation methods to create the variety of maps. Data collection and processing was a collaborative effort among
the consortium and various stakeholders among others the MSFD Technical Group on Marine Litter, Member States,
Regional Sea Conventions, EMODnet Chemistry project partners, ICES Database of Trawl Surveys (DATRAS), Joint
Research Centre (JRC) and specific EU projects. A more dynamic and tailored set of products is currently under
discussion and could be developed in the future phase. To access the marine litter maps, visit www.emodnet-chemistry.eu