AQW 7484/17-22

Mr John Blair
Alliance Party
South Antrim

Tabled Date: 23/09/2020
Answered On Date: 06/10/2020
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (i) what assessment his Department has made of the amount of plastic debris in the Irish Sea and Atlantic Ocean; and (ii) what steps they are taking to prevent any increase in the volume of plastic waste entering oceans, in particular as a result of discarded face masks used during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Answer:

My Department has been working closely with a range of partners to fully understand the sources and amount of plastic debris entering our seas. Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful (KNIB), who are funded by the Department, have been undertaking quarterly surveys of litter found on a representative sample of beaches around our coast since 2012. The results are published annually in the Northern Ireland Marine Litter Survey and are available on the DAERA website https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/marine-litter

My Department has been exploring a range of approaches to prevent any increases in the volume of plastic waste entering the oceans, including partnering with KNIB and Sustainable NI on the Tackling Plastic project. This involves working with schools, businesses, the public sector and the wider public in identifying practical ways to reduce or eliminate many unnecessary single-use plastics.

My Department recently provided funding to KNIB which enabled the development of a media campaign to raise awareness of the potential harmful effects of PPE on the environment. The campaign included television and social media advertising and has been airing since July under the ‘Live Here, Love Here’ branding.

In addition, my Department has been conducting a social media campaign to encourage people to dispose of PPE in the correct and safe manner. Issue 14 of DAERA’s Marine Litter Watch e-zine is due for publication on-line shortly.

Finally, my Department will be publishing a draft ‘Environment Strategy for Northern Ireland’ for public consultation in 2021. This will be Northern Ireland’s first overarching Environment Strategy and it will include options to address the problem of littering in the future.