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Environmental information systems
Marine litter is a growing problem for Europe’s seas and coasts. It threatens marine life, ecosystems, human activities, and health, while also creating economic costs for sectors that depend on the sea. To address this challenge, European policies such as the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) aim to reduce marine litter and prevent pollution at source.
The Marine Litter Watch (MLW) initiative, coordinated by the European Environment Agency since 2013, involves communities, NGOs, schools, scientists, and citizens in monitoring beach litter.
Marine Litter Watch: communities working together for cleaner seas
The Marine Litter Watch (MLW) initiative
Since 2013, the European Environment Agency (EEA) has coordinated Marine Litter Watch (MLW) - a citizen science initiative that strengthens Europe’s knowledge base and supports European policy implementation. Using the MLW app and a harmonised methodology, volunteers collect and share data that feed into European assessments. This WISE Marine section presents the main findings of the Marine Litter Watch assessment, based on data collected voluntarily in the context of the initiative, and explains how you can get involved.
MLW Keys components
- Communities survey beaches using the MLW app and manage data through the Reportnet 3 portal
- A harmonised list of litter items, aligned with the MSFD, ensures consistency across surveys
- Data is published online by the EEA to improve understanding of litter types and trends.
Who is involved
MLW brings together NGOs, businesses, industry, coastal communities (e.g. sports clubs, scouts), schools and universities, scientists, public authorities, and citizens.
2024 European Beach Litter Assessment results
Information and data on marine litter amounts and composition are essential for tackling the problem at source and monitor the effectiveness of preventive measures. The EEA developed a MLW web/mobile app to strengthen Europe's knowledge base and thus provide support to European policymaking. The initiative uses citizen science — scientific research conducted, at least partly, by members of the public — and smartphone technology to encourage and support citizen communities to provide structured data on marine litter and to clean up Europe's beaches at the same time.
Key messages
MLW data shows that Europe exceeds threshold values
for marine litter
86% of litter items recorded by MLW volunteers on beches are made of plastic
Cigarette butts are particularly abundant on beaches across all marine regions
Data reported
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litter items collected since 2013
Map 1: litter items by beach (median)
Read more on which data are used for the assessment
State of the beaches
On average, 235 litter items per 100 metres of beach were recorded by Marine Litter Watch communities.
The results vary across regions, with the Black Sea (475 items) and Mediterranean Sea (310 items) showing the highest levels, followed by the North-East Atlantic and the Baltic Sea (71 items). All regions remain well above the MSFD threshold of 20 items per 100 metres.
Share of litter items found on the monitored beaches
Top 10 beaches litter items
State of the rivers and lakes
Litter is not only a coastal or marine problem — rivers and lakes are major pathways, carrying waste from inland areas to the sea. To capture this, Marine Litter Watch has been extended to river and lake banks. Although data are more limited, results already show that plastics account for 77% of inland litter, with cigarette butts making up over one third of all items recorded. Other common items include plastic pieces, glass or ceramic fragments, metal caps, snack packets, and food containers.
Top 10 river and lake litter items
Read more about the role of rivers as pathways of transport of plastic litter into European Seas in section 3 of the EEA web-report "From rivers to the sea - the pathways and the outcome".
Top marine litter items by Region and by Country
add some text and create as for country the "Select by region"
Top 10 litter items by Marine Region
Top 10 litter items by Country
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Marine Litter Watch data viewer
The Marine Litter Watch (MLW) data viewer provides a map of beach litter data collection events organised by MLW communities. It also provides overview graphs and tables of both the data collected and community engagement.