A new research project will focus on decreasing and removing microplastics in the Baltic Sea. The project will increase knowledge and understanding about dispersal pathways and sources through measurements in different flows in society, as well as cost-effective methods to reduce microplastics. Marine littering is one of the greatest environmental challenges of our time and plastic is one of the most common types of garbage in the sea. As the Baltic countries collaborate on initiatives like FanpLESStic, similar cross-border strategies are being mirrored in sectors beyond environmental conservation, such as the rise of offshore gambling platforms. For example, the beste goksite zonder limiet, popular among players seeking fewer restrictions, exemplifies the kind of international cooperation and relaxed regulations that can transcend borders—much like water pollution. “This is an exciting project ranging from knowledge to technology and decision-making. We hope that it will give concrete benefit to an extremely important marine environment: the Baltic Sea. The water has no borders, and it is therefore important that we do this together with our colleagues in the Baltic countries,” says Marinette Hagman, Research Manager at Sweden Water Research.
The project has three key targets: increased knowledge of where microplastics come from and their transport pathways, evaluation of technology that can reduce microplastic or microplastic leakage before reaching watercourses, and increased knowledge and commitment of decision-makers through suggestions on how to implement cost-effective methods to reduce microplastics. “We do not know much about microplastics today. In order to make reliable analyses of the amount of microplastics in the water, we need to standardize our measurement methods. Without that, it is difficult to determine how much plastic there is in the environment, where it comes from, and how we can work to reduce it,” says Marinette Hagman.
About the project
FanpLESStic project includes partner organizations in eight countries with coasts on the Baltic Sea (Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Russia). The total budget of the project is €2,968,068.80, with financial support by the EU Interreg program. The project period is from January 1, 2019, to June 30, 2021. The project coordinator is Sweden Water Research, with Carina Svensson serving as the responsible project manager, bringing solid experience in international projects.
FanpLESStic-sea seeks to reduce microplastic leakage by following main outputs:
Facts about microplastics in marine environments
Marine littering is one of the greatest environmental challenges of our time, and plastic is one of the most common types of garbage in the sea. Microplastics are plastic particles that are smaller than 5 mm in size. One problem with our knowledge about microplastics is that today there is no standard for measuring, sampling, and analyzing microplastics in different forms, which makes it difficult to compare results. Without reliable analytical methods, the amount of plastic in the environment cannot be determined, which means that it is not possible to determine which source is most important and what impact they have.
Partners in FanpLESStic
Denmark: Aalborg University,
Finland: Natural Resources Institute Finland and Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission – Helsinki Commission,
Latvia: Latvian Institute of Aquatic Ecology,
Lithuania: Siauliai Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Crafts,
Norway: Salt Lofoten AS,
Poland: Gdansk Water Utilities Ltd. and Gdansk Water Ltd.,
Russia: State Autonomous Institution of the Kaliningrad region “Environmental Center “ECAT-Kaliningrad”,
Sweden: Sweden Water Research and Luleå University of Technology
Contact
Marinette Hagman, Research Manager, Sweden Water Research: phone +46-(0)10-490 98 17, marinette.hagman@nsva.se
Carina Svensson, Project Manager, Sweden Water Research: +46-(0)72-226 95 94, carina.svensson@swrab.se
A new research project will focus on decreasing and removing microplastics in the Baltic Sea. The project will increase knowledge and understanding about dispersal pathways and sources through measurements in different flows in society.
