Marine litter is a problem of global magnitude. Given its densely settled and highly industrialised coasts as well as the high volume of ship traffic, the North Sea is significantly affected by this problem. Especially plastic waste pollutes the ocean since it is very resistant and degrades extremely slowly.

Civilisation litter is not only an aesthetic problem on beaches, on the sea surface and on the seafloor. Marine organisms take up litter particles along with food, which may lead to injuries to digestive organs and to the animals’ death. The chemical substances contained in litter particles accumulate in the food web and may thus also reach humans in the end. Species from other marine regions make use of drifting litter as a means of transportation that takes them across long distances to the North Sea.

In the 1980s the disposal of plastic litter in the sea was regulated by the MARPOL Convention, which has not noticeably reduced the litter volume in the oceans to date, however. Comparable to carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, once plastic litter enter the ocean, it is difficult to eliminate them. The Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research investigates and documents the occurrence and impacts of litter in the North Sea jointly with international partners.