To date, 74 plastic associations in 40 countries have signed the plastics industry’s global declaration, through which 355 projects have been planned, initiated or completed since its launch, Jim Steward, chairman of the World Plastic Council said on Friday.

He was referring to the role of industry initiatives such as the World Plastics Council and the Global Plastic Alliance, during “Together we must save our oceans from litter”, this year’s edition of PolyTalk 2018 which was held in Malta over two days.

The conference brought together more than 190 high-level representatives from the world of politics, industry, media, NGOs, science and academia. PolyTalk is a multi-stakeholder forum organised by plastics manufacturers to engage with key actors.

“We all share the same objective: to protect our oceans and the marine environment”, said Daniele Ferrari, president of PlasticsEurope.

“With PolyTalk2018, we want not only to raise awareness, but to share concrete strategies and build new partnerships for preventing marine litter around the world. We want to strengthen our industry efforts and cooperation in key areas, to identify knowledge gaps, and discuss how to improve waste management infrastructures”.

Richard Thompson, professor of marine biology at Plymouth University, stressed not only the need for more research in order to understand sources and impact, but the need to design plastic products in a way that they take into consideration the end of their life. “In my view, a key priority is to ensure plastic products are designed with greater consideration of their end of life opportunities – where possible products should be designed to maximize their potential for end of life recyclability,” he said.

During the conference key aspects such as how waste management infrastructures and regulations could contribute in reducing litter were raised.

Karmenu Vella, European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries presented key European policy actions such as the Circular Economy Package and the Plastics Strategy aimed at tackling marine litter, while solutions at regional level – particularly through maritime schemes - were emphasised by Environment Minister Jose Herrera.

PolyTalk 2018 was aimed at identifying the path towards a clean marine environment with a special focus on the Mediterranean Sea.