12 March: Bahrain and New Zealand announced their commitment to the UN CleanSeas Campaign, joining more than 40 countries around the world that have already agreed to tackle plastic pollution in the ocean. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP, or UN Environment) launched the campaign to reduce the use of non-recoverable and single-use plastics that pollute the marine environment.

As part of its commitment to the CleanSeas Campaign, Bahrain will implement a national campaign to encourage citizens to reduce plastics use and will continue its focus on protection of national marine reserves and resources. Bahrain will also undertake activities to raise awareness on marine litter and promote the recycling of plastics and other materials, such as awareness raising events and beach clean-up days.

New Zealand will focus on land-based sources of pollution, with the aim of preventing litter from entering the oceans. The country plans to implement several measures, including: banning products containing plastic microbeads, beginning in June 2018; developing options to end single-use plastic bags; reviewing implementation of the Waste Minimization Act, which aims to reduce landfill waste; and supporting data collection on marine debris along coastlines and oceans. New Zealand’s Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage said New Zealand’s commitment to the CleanSeas campaign reflects its desire “to be part of the solution” to plastic pollution in the ocean. She stressed, “microplastic in our oceans and its effect on the food chain” is a concern for all species and a human health risk. New Zealand announced its commitment at the Volvo Ocean Race village in Auckland.

UNEP announced the winners of the #CleanSeas Innovation Challenge, which recognized university students for their ideas on how to tackle marine litter. The communications track winner designed reusable bags, ‘Tasini,’ that resemble different marine animals to raise awareness about the ecosystems they aim to protect. The project will produce cartoons featuring the bags to encourage consumers to change their plastic habits. The design and engineering track winners proposed making biodegradable plastic out of egg whites. The economics track winner used recycled plastic bottles to build canoes for fisherfolk. The prediction and recovery track winner developed a method for using remote sensing to detect marine litter along the Chilean coast.

The four winners will present their projects during the Sixth International Marine Debris Conference, which is taking place from 12-16 March, in San Diego, CA, US. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and UNEP are organizing the Conference to promote international coordination efforts within the marine debris community. [UN Press Release on Bahrain] [UNEP Press Release on New Zealand] [UNEP Press Release on Innovation Challenge]