(European Bioplastics) Following the European Commission’s definition, “marine litter consists of items that have been deliberately discarded, unintentionally lost, or transported by winds and rivers into the sea and onto beaches. It consists of plastics, wood, metals glass, rubber clothing, and paper.” Marine debris originates from a variety of sources with shipping and fishing activities as the predominant sea-based sources; ineffectively managed landfills as well as public littering the mainland-based sources. Marine litter can pose a threat to living organisms, especially due to potential ingestion or entanglement. Currently, there is no international standard available to appropriately describe the biodegradation of plastics in the marine environment. However, several standardization projects are currently being developed at ISO and ASTM level. Furthermore, the European project OPEN BID addresses the marine biodegradation of biobased products.
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