The findings from that project, which is being used as evidence by the United Nations as it deliberates an international Plastics Treaty, was first published in Frontiers in Marine Science in 2023. It describes that while two thirds of the plastic debris come from fisheries along the Arctic coastline, almost a third is of European origin. “In Germany we pride ourselves in our great recycling system and yet we find these things in the Arctic [that are from our country],” said Melanie Bergmann, senior scientist at the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research in Germany. Bergmann collaborated with Lutz to devise a rigorous, unbiased method of assessing the extent of plastic pollution for the project. Together with her student, Anna Natalie Meyer, she sleuthed the origin of 23,000 pieces of garbage that Lutz and her teams of volunteers collected during the survey. Eight per cent of the trash with identifiable markings had German writing, “I was surprised”, she said.
The weight and size of debris pose a persistent problem for coastal communities.
This debris is often difficult to remove due to its size and weight, making it a persistent problem. For instance, consider the case of the fishing village of San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua. This village, known for its vibrant fishing industry, has been grappling with a significant amount of fishing gear debris on its beaches.
Lutz says that removing a single washed-up fishing rope from the permafrost on a Svalbard beach can take several hours. “You may see 20 centimeters on the surface, and then you start pulling and digging and then we need knives and all kinds of tools,” she said. “And you have to imagine we do all of this in polar bear country,” which is cold and dangerous.
