BIMCO, the largest of the international shipping associations representing shipowners, announced that it has joined the GloLitter Partnerships Project as a strategic partner.
According to the organization, assisting developing countries to prevent and reduce marine plastic litter from maritime transport and identifying opportunities for the reduction of plastic uses in shipping are shared ambitions and vital for supporting the long-term health of the ocean.
What is the GloLitter Partnerships Project?
GloLitter is a global project launched in 2019 by the International Maritime Organization in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. The goal is to prevent and reduce the marine litter plastic from shipping and fisheries.
GloLitter will help developing countries find new opportunities to prevent and reduce marine litter, such as plastic debris, while also enable companies to decline the use of plastics in these industries, also proposing the idea of re-use and recycle plastics.
Amongst a number of hugely important and relevant issues – the project will consider the availability and adequacy of port reception facilities and look at enhancing awareness of the marine plastics issue within shipping, including to seafarers – both of which are very significant for BIMCO campaign on plastics.
BIMCO informs that plastic pollution remains a significant threat to the marine environment. To reduce any contribution of shipping and to truly address plastic pollution there needs to be a collaborative effort across the supply and value chain- something which this partnership can facilitate.
Engaging with GloLitter further builds on our relationship with Glo-X projects with BIMCO already involved as a strategic partner to GloFouling. Our newly established Working Group on Single Use Plastics Onboard Ships (SUPWG) will be our centre for engagement – providing valuable insight and support to the project.
…says BIMCO on its website.
Recently, an international group of scientists and experts called for a limit on plastic production to address pollution, arguing that it is critical to tackle the issue right at the source, by regulating, capping, and in the long term phasing out the production of new plastics.
Last month, a ground-breaking Global Industry Alliance (GIA), led by the UN GlobalCompact, was launched in the Port of Oslo, Norway in order tackle one of the most pressing issues in marine ecosystems of our time – plastic entering the ocean.
