Dutch riverbanks heavily littered with plastic; Organizations want stricter approach

The banks of the major rivers in the Netherlands are littered with waste, mainly consisting of various types of plastic. About 40 percent of the trash comes from various industrial enterprises, another 35 percent is caused by litter, and 20 percent by others who dump trash into the water, according to the research carried out by Schone Rivieren, a project published on Monday looking into the cleanliness of Dutch rivers. The way the pollution is handled now is like mopping up water "while the tap is running," said the organizations behind the project, IVN Natuureducatie and the North Sea Foundation.

There is an average of 311 pieces of waste per 100 meters of riverbanks, which tens of thousands of volunteers scour every year in an effort to clean up the rubbish. Styrofoam, plastic wrapping and hard plastic are the three most commonly found types of waste on the banks of the Rhine, the Maas and other rivers. This plastic waste not only pollutes the riverbanks, but also ends up in the river water and ultimately in the sea. "It can be said that the plastic soup already starts in the rivers," the organizations conclude.

They call it "necessary and urgent" to tackle the waste problem by going after the source. The fact that so many volunteers keep showing up to help clean up litter "is fantastic, but it cannot continue indefinitely," the organizations believe.

More than 3,000 measurements have been taken since 2017, and the waste found was immediately cleaned up. According to the researchers, 39 percent of that waste comes from "industrial activities." This includes companies, construction sites, shipping and fishing.

Consumers cause 35 percent of the mess. This concerns packaging from candy, chips and other snacks, as well as plastic drink containers and cigarette filters. Cotton swabs and sanitary wipes are also commonly found, which ends up in the water in one of several ways, like sewer overflows. This type of waste constitutes 7 percent of the total. The researchers further estimate that 19 percent is due to directly dumping trash into the water.

Various places are heavily contaminated with nurdles, a type of small plastic pellet less than 5 millimeters in size. These are widely used in the production of other forms of plastic products. They are commonly found in the port of Rotterdam, along the Maas in southern Limburg and along the Westerschelde.

According to the researchers, the introduction of a deposit scheme on cans and small bottles has "not yet led to a clear decrease" in the riverfront pollution. They propose various measures to better tackle the problem. For example, governments can include how organizations intend to prevent litter when the government hands out permits or issues tenders.

To really rid rivers of such trash, disposable packaging must make way for "circular systems," the organizations said. They will hand in their report to Members of Parliament on Tuesday.