The “Citizen Decalogue against Marine Litter” is an initiative to improve the environmental status of the seas that was presented at CONAMA 2016.

Every year about ten million tons of garbage reach the seas and oceans , generating a great environmental problem. 80% of marine litter originates on land and partly comes from littering . Blown by wind and rain, they can travel thousands of kilometers to reach the flow of a river and, finally, reach the seabed and coasts. Garbage also comes from waste that we throw incorrectly through the sink.

The remaining 20% of marine litter is the result of activities carried out at sea such as fishing or shipping. The consequences of all this is that more than a million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals and turtles die every year due to entanglement or ingestion of this waste, mainly plastics.

Faced with this serious problem, the “Citizen Decalogue against Marine Litter” was presented at the National Congress of the Environment, CONAMA 2016, a document agreed upon by environmental organizations, administrations, third sector entities, fishermen and companies, which includes advice and good practices focused on prevention, with the aim of helping to keep beaches, coasts and oceans clean. This document, aimed at citizens and entities, stresses the importance of raising awareness to deal with the problem of marine litter, the adoption of responsible consumption habits, responsibility and a commitment to citizen science.

Adherence to the citizens’ decalogue against marine litter implies voluntarily assuming a series of behaviors to contribute to improving the environmental state of our seas.