The Pew Charitable Trusts reposted this
🚨 Environmental Catastrophe in #Galicia reveals weaknesses of proposed EU legislation 📨 Open Letter to the European Parliament: "After yet another container loss, the shores of Galicia, Asturias and Cantabria (Spain), along the Atlantic coast, are under siege from a relentless tide of microplastics. Those small particles washing ashore are plastic pellets, which are the raw material used to manufacture all plastic items. As a coalition of NGOs, we are raising our collective voice to call for action to stop this environmental catastrophe stemming from the systemic poor handling of plastic pellets throughout the value chain. And this can be achieved with the adoption of ambitious EU legislation." European legislation is currently under review. To prevent environmental catastrophes such as this in the future, the proposed legislation needs to be much more ambitious: 🚢 Shockingly, while being responsible for the Galician catastrophe, maritime transport is simply exempted from any requirements. The EU must urgently address this regulatory gap. 💼 Another major flaw is that smaller enterprises from the plastic value chain benefit from symbolic measures which will not be sufficient to prevent pellet spills. ⛔ Prioritizing prevention should be non-negotiable, and accountability for all pellet handlers must be a universal demand – irrespective of a company’s size or a mode of transport, maritime included. "Real change can only be achieved with Members of the European Parliament stepping up and showing political courage under the current mandate. With the EU elections happening only in a few months, current Members of the European Parliament will be judged on their ability to respond in practical terms to the problems faced by European citizens. The time for half-measures and empty promises is over; the citizens demand decisive action now. Break Free From Plastic, ECOS, Environmental Investigation Agency, European Environmental Bureau, Fauna & Flora , Fidra, Gallifrey Foundation, Rame Peninsula Beach Care, Noia Limpa , Surfrider Foundation Europe, Kimo, Plastic Soup Foundation, Rethink Plastic Alliance, Seas At Risk, SOS Mal de Seine, Surfrider Foundation Spain, OceanCare, Good Karma Projects, Retorna.org