April 2014: The April 2014 newsletter from the UN Regional Information Centre for Western Europe (UNRIC) focuses on plastic waste, including articles on the EU’s recent agreement to ban certain plastic bags by 2020, and a proposal by the UN Association of Finland that the Government of Finland initiates a global UN treaty on plastic debris in the oceans.

The newsletter also highlights plastic waste in Hornstrandir, the northwestern most part of Iceland, and the pervasive marine pollution problem of plastic waste, including the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

In related news, Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik, after the vote in the European Parliament on the Commission’s proposal on plastic bags, highlighted that “The huge and growing consumption rates of plastic bags –100 billion bags per year in the EU alone – demonstrates a reckless waste of resources…their legacy lasts for hundreds of years, often as harmful microscopic particles that are damaging the environment worldwide, especially the marine environment. In the North Sea, the stomachs of 94% of all birds contain plastic.” [UNRIC Press Release] [UNRIC Newsletter][Europa Press Release]