Publications

@article{González-Fernández2018,

title = {Floating Macro Litter in European Rivers – Top Items},

author = {Daniel González-Fernández and Georg Hanke and RiLON network},

url = {https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/a0475f87-fc2d-11e8-a96d-01aa75ed71a1/language-en},

doi = {10.2760/316058},

isbn = {978-92-79-96373-5},

year  = {2018},

date = {2018-00-00},

journal = {Publication office of the European Union, Luxembourg},

abstract = {The JRC exploratory project RIMMEL provides information about litter, mainly plastic waste, entering the European Seas through river systems. RIMMEL has collected data on riverine floating macro litter inputs to the sea. Data acquisition was based on the Riverine Litter Observation Network (RiLON) activities, which collected data from rivers in the European marine basins over a period of one year (September 2016 – September 2017). Data was collected by visual observations and documented with the JRC Floating Litter Monitoring Application for mobile devices, allowing a harmonized reporting,… compatible with the MSFD Master List of Categories for Litter Items. This report includes the Top Items lists of riverine floating macro litter, based on the total amount of litter items identified during RiLON activities and ranked by abundance. Top Items lists have been elaborated considering the whole database for the European Seas and further detailed for each individual European regional sea: Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and North-East Atlantic. The North-East Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea regions showed similar litter categories in their Top 20 Items. These two regions provided most of the available data, influencing the general Top Items list. In the Black Sea and Baltic Sea regions, where data availability was limited, the Top Items lists showed more differences among the different regions. Overall, the general Top Items list for the European Seas showed a predominance of plastic item categories (artificial polymer materials). As a whole, plastic items made up to 80.8% of all objects, with plastic and polystyrene fragments comprising 45% of the identified items in the database. Additionally, Single Use Plastics such as bottles, cover/packaging and bags were also ranked among the most frequently found floating litter. The similarities in the Top 10 and Top 20 items for the different regions, and the appearance of Single Use Plastics scoring high in the ranking, support the need for common actions against plastic pollution at EU level. },

keywords = {Aquatic environment, Data collection, Environmental monitoring, Environmental protection, Environmental research, Inland waterway, Pollution control, Pollution of waterways, Research report, Water pollutant, Water pollution, Watercourse},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{González-Fernández2017,

title = {Toward a Harmonized Approach for Monitoring of Riverine Floating Macro Litter Inputs to the Marine Environment},

author = {Daniel González-Fernández and Georg Hanke},

url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2017.00086/full},

doi = {10.3389/fmars.2017.00086},

year  = {2017},

date = {2017-00-00},

journal = {Frontiers in Marine Science},

volume = {4},

number = {86},

pages = {1-7},

abstract = {A high percentage of the litter entering the marine environment is assumed to come from land-based sources, but freshwater litter inputs have not been quantified. The lack of data and knowledge on fluxes of riverine litter to the sea, i.e., quantities and sources, hinders implementation of appropriate environmental regulations and mitigation measures. Estimations of riverine litter inputs require a consistent and harmonized approach to gather comparable data. The visual observation of floating litter on rivers has been selected as a simple and robust methodology for litter monitoring. A collaborative network of 36 institutions has been set-up for large spatial coverage. Currently 58 rivers are being observed regularly. A tablet computer application has been developed for the monitoring of floating macro litter (>2.5 cm) to harmonize the visual observations. The application allows recording of the observed items, their size and geo-position data during monitoring sessions. A common agreed list of litter items and size ranges is used, providing a common harmonized approach for data collection and reporting. },

keywords = {Environmental monitoring, Floating debris, Litter, Marine litter, Plastics, Pollution, Riverine input},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{González2016,

title = {Riverine Litter Monitoring – Options and Recommendations},

author = {Daniel González and Georg Hanke and Gijsbert Tweehuysen and Bert Bellert and Marloes Holzhauer and Andreja Palatinus and Philipp Hohenblum and Lex Oosterbaan},

url = {https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/816a2049-dbb8-11e6-ad7c-01aa75ed71a1/language-en},

doi = {10.2788/461233},

year  = {2016},

date = {2016-00-00},

journal = {JRC Technical Report. EUR28307 EN},

abstract = {Marine litter is an issue of global concern, as recognised by the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). In order to establish programmes of measures that aim to reduce plastics and their possible impacts, sources of litter and their pathways to the marine environment need to be identified and quantified. Riverine litter input is estimated to be a major contributor to marine litter, but there is no comprehensive information about the amount of litter being transported through rivers to the sea. Furthermore, there are no harmonised methodologies for providing quantitative data for… comparable assessments of riverine litter. This technical report compiles the options for monitoring riverine litter and quantifying litter fluxes, focusing on anthropogenic litter. It includes the current scientific and technical background regarding litter in river systems, their flow regime and basic properties. The document aims to provide recommendations for monitoring approaches and methodologies. It also provides indications on the issues which need to be further developed in a collaborative approach. An extensive literature review has been performed in order to identify the existing options for the monitoring of litter items in rivers. Different monitoring methods are used in two environmental compartments: river water bodies and riverbanks. For a river water body, the river water surface can be monitored by visual observation and image acquisition, while collection methodologies of the water column include the use of retaining structures and sampling using grids, nets and filtration systems (with different mesh sizes and openings) at different water depths. Riverbank monitoring comprises the observation and eventual collection of litter items and sediment samples from the riverbanks. Methodologies are described and technical details are reported whenever available. As methodologies are further developed and basic research is ongoing, it is currently not possible to provide clear guidance on how to monitor riverine litter, though some initial recommendations can be made. General recommendations highlight the need for additional scientific knowledge, which should be made accessible to facilitate communication and coordination among key players in order to harmonise efforts and provide guidance at international level in a collaborative way. Knowledge gaps should be filled by analysing the outcome of these ongoing activities (the recommendations include a list of identified gaps). As there are no agreed monitoring methodologies at the international level, guidance on the monitoring of riverine litter is needed, including metadata requirements and reporting units. In order to quantify riverine litter input to the marine environment, monitoring methods have to provide data that can be related to river flow in order to be able to calculate litter fluxes (e.g. visual observation of the river water surface and collection method for the river water body).},

keywords = {Anti-pollution device, Aquatic environment, Coastal protection, Consumer behaviour, Data collection, Environmental monitoring, Environmental protection, Environmental research, Inland waterway, Marine ecosystem, Marine pollution, Pollution control, Pollution from land-based sources, Pollution of waterways, Research report, Sea, Water pollutant, Water pollution, Watercourse},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}