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Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Plastic Pollution” and adopt a legally bind- Still on international measures aimed at instrument that, in its Annex V, in regula-
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Disposal, specifically, aware of the risk of ing international agreement by 2024. The mitigating marine pollution, from the 5th tion 3, prohibits the disposal of waste out-
harm to human health and the environ- resolution addresses the entire life cycle of International Conference on Marine Debris side special areas, including the dumping
ment caused by hazardous wastes and oth- plastics, including their production, devel- in 2011, the Honolulu Strategy emerged of all kinds of plastics at sea; and in rule 5,
er wastes and their transboundary move- opment and disposal. as a global framework of comprehensive which provides for the disposal of garbage
ment (BASEL CONVENTION, 2020), can be Resolution UNEP/EA.5/L.23/Rev.1, en- efforts aimed at reducing the impacts of in special areas, prohibits the throwing of
understood as an important binding mech- titled “Ending plastic pollution: Towards a marine debris worldwide, whether ecolog- all plastic objects, such as ropes and fishing
anism allied to the mitigation of the effects legally binding international instrument”, ical, on human health or on the economy nets made of synthetic material and plastic
of transboundary pollution. Specifically, addresses several aspects of marine plas- (NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC garbage bags.
regarding plastic waste, which has been tic pollution and, among them, recognizes ADMINISTRATION). The Strategy builds on The International Maritime Organiza-
recognized as a serious global environmen- that: a) microplastics are part of the prob- the Honolulu Commitment, with a new tion, in turn, adopted in 2018 an action
tal problem, the Conference of the Parties lem; b) plastic pollution, in marine and oth- collaborative approach to reducing the in- plan to address plastic litter from ships,
to the Basel Convention, in 2019, adopted er environments, can be of a transbound- cidence of solid waste in the ocean, as well aiming to improve existing regulations
important decisions to address the issue. ary nature and needs to be tackled, along as the damage it causes to marine habitat, and introduce new support measures to
These measures strengthened the Basel with its impacts, through a full life cycle biodiversity, and the local and global econ- reduce marine plastic litter from ships. The
Convention as the only legally binding approach to these materials; c) there is an omy (TURRA et al., Op. Cit.). plan emphasizes IMO’s commitment to
global instrument to specifically address urgent need to strengthen global coordina- The Honolulu Strategy is considered a meeting the targets of the 2030 Agenda,
plastic waste (Idem, 2020). tion, cooperation and governance to take major soft law advance in the field (STOETT, in particular SDG 14, noting that plastic
In the Report of the Conference of the immediate action for the long-term elimina- 2019). The Commitment agrees with the litter enters the marine environment as
Parties to the Convention on the work of tion of plastic pollution in marine and other intention of several groups to combat the a result of a wide range of land and sea
its fourteenth meeting, many represen- environments; and d) greater international problem of litter at sea, while the Strategy activities. Both macro and microplastics
tatives, including several who spoke on commitment is needed through the devel- has the scope to serve as a management persist in the ocean and result in harmful
behalf of groups of countries, took the opment of a legally binding international tool to minimize the impacts caused by this effects on marine life and biodiversity, as
floor to highlight the extent of the plas- instrument on plastic pollution, including in debris, from actions that control its marine well as negative impacts on human health
tic waste problem and the importance of the marine environment (UNEP, 2022). and terrestrial sources and that reduce the and activities such as tourism, fishing,
taking steps to manage them. The four- The problem of litter in the ocean has a levels of waste already present in the envi- and shipping. Despite the existing inter-
teenth meeting of the Conference of the global scale and intergenerational impact, ronment. The Honolulu Strategy plays an national regulatory framework to prevent
Parties to the Basel Convention (COP-14, in addition to being a complex cultural and essential role in supporting sustainable and marine plastic litter from ships, however,
29 April to 10 May 2019) adopted, in its multisectoral issue that claims huge eco- structured solutions for the existence of discharges at sea continue to occur (IMO,
decision BC-14/12, amendments to An- logical, economic, and social costs world- waste in the ocean. The accumulation of MEPC 73/19/Add.1 Annex 10), which
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nexes II, VIII and IX of the Convention with wide (TURRA et al., Op. Cit.). The new debris – specifically plastics – in the seas is a demonstrates that such standards do not
the objective of increasing the control Resolution expresses in its text the need to global problem, which transcends borders achieve the expected effect.
of transboundary movements of plastic promote cooperative measures at national and originates from various sources, arising At the national level, as well, there are
waste, clarifying the scope of the Conven- and international level with the objective from anthropogenic activity. The problem, also public policies aimed at waste man-
tion regarding this waste. of reducing plastic pollution in the ocean, as already pointed out, is a shared respon- agement and the mitigation of marine
More recently, in March 2022, Heads including existing plastic pollution, in ad- sibility among States and among different pollution, whose regulatory framework is
of State, Environment Ministers and other dition to emphasizing the importance of sectors of society (TURRA et al., Op. Cit.). Law Number 12,305/2010, known as Bra-
representatives of 175 States endorsed a providing scientific and socioeconomic as- The International Convention for the zil’s National Policy on Solid Waste (PNRS),
landmark resolution at the United Nations sessments related to this type of pollution Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MAR- which defines polluting substances, or de-
Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) to “End (UNEP/EA.5/L.23/Rev.1). POL, 1973) is another global, but binding bris inserted into the seas, such as discarded

288 BLUE ECONOMY Marine pollution as everyone’s responsibility 289