COMMON Project: important regulatory development in the fight against marine litter approved in Italy.
The “Save-Sea” law, presented in 2018 by the then Minister of Environment Sergio Costa, was finally approved on Wednesday, May 11, after being blocked in the Senate for a lengthy period. It is a significant development in the fight against plastic pollution since the Mediterranean Sea is one of the areas with the highest concentration of microplastic in the world.
This law will allow fishers to bring plastic wastes caught in fishing nets back to the mainland, where the port authorities will take care of recycling and disposal
Historically, the role of the fishers in the fight against marine litter has always been the center of Legambiente activities, and in recent years they have activated many experimental “fishing for litter”, a collaboration between Legambiente and the fishers’ cooperatives to demonstrate the importance of this action.
Accompanied by essential preventive measures, such as environmental education, and awareness in schools and among citizens, this law represents without a doubt a change in safeguarding the environment and promoting the circular economy.