Development of a Norwegian monitoring program for Macroplastic and Litter

Sammendrag

The Norwegian Environment Agency (NEA) aims to strengthen environmental monitoring of macroplastic and litter pollution in Norway. Macroplastic and litter are items above 25 mm. Monitoring of litter in the Northern Fulmar is included (1-25 mm) as this is an established indicator representing biota. The other environmental compartments covered in this report are coastal waters, oceans, lakes, rivers, and terrestrial environments. This report identifies international obligations and national needs for knowledge on litter, reviews international harmonisation efforts for monitoring of litter and evaluates their technological readiness levels for implementation in monitoring programs. Data availability, on-going monitoring activities and initiatives that could contribute to collecting data on litter in Norway is mapped, and the cost of expanding existing monitoring is evaluated. Based on this mapping recommendations are given on how monitoring of macroplastic and litter could be strengthened in the future in Norway.