Introduction

4. Plastic pollution is an environmental hazard affecting both terrestrial and marine environments. The majority (approximately 80%) of plastic in the ocean originates from land, mostly from coastal areas, and an estimated 0.4 - 4 million tonnes of plastic debris enter the ocean via rivers per year (Smidt et al., 2017; Wayman, 2021).

5. The term OBP currently covers a broad range of plastic disposed of in the environment, i.e. terrestrial, aquatic and marine. While there are several definitions of OBP available in the literature (Annex A), there is no standardised international or widely accepted definition of OBP to date. For the purpose of this assessment, the FCMJEG has broadened the scope to include not only OBP but also environmental plastic more generally, as the only distinction is proximity to the aquatic environment. They consider environmental plastic or OBP as any discarded or abandoned plastic material that has been exposed to and collected from the open environment. Plastic material that was acquired from established waste and recycling collection systems, for example deposit return schemes or kerbside collection, or collected from any other controlled environment (e.g. households, venues), is considered outside the scope of this evaluation.

6. Any recycled plastic FCM produced needs to be compliant with the current EU/UK regulations and legislation (FSA). This includes the requirement that plastic must not contain carcinogenic and mutagenic substances or substances affecting reproduction (CMR substances).