Enhancing public awareness and promoting co-responsibility for marine litter in Europe: The challenge of MARLISCO

Marine litter is a pervasive and complex societal problem but has no simple solution. Inadequate practices at all levels of production–use–disposal contribute to accumulation of waste on land and at sea. Enhanced societal awareness but also co-responsibility across different sectors and improved interactions between stakeholders are necessary. MARLISCO was a European initiative, which developed and implemented activities across 15 countries. It worked towards raising societal awareness and engagement on marine litter, through a combination of approaches: public exhibitions in over 80 locations; a video competition involving 2100 students; and a legacy of educational and decision-supporting tools. 12 national participatory events designed to facilitate dialogue on solutions brought together 1500 stakeholders and revealed support for cross-cutting, preventive measures. Evaluation during implementation shows that these activities are effective in improving individuals' perceptions about the problem but also commitment in being part of the solution. This paper summarises MARLISCO's approach and highlights a selection of outcomes

Circular Bioeconomy in Action: Collection and Recycling of Domestic Used Cooking Oil through a Social, Reverse Logistics System

The inappropriate disposal of millions of tons of domestically produced used cooking oil (UCO), either down domestic household drains or in landfill, causes significant detrimental effects on the environment but also constitutes the loss of a valuable resource, since used cooking oil is a sought-after feedstock for biodiesel production. This paper presents findings from a social reverse logistics system, called InnovOleum, for collecting and recycling domestic used cooking oil through schools. The disruptive, social aspect of InnovOleum derives from the provision of funds from the sale of the collected used cooking oil to be invested within the participating schools in ongoing environmental education and green infrastructure and technology. To date, over 200,000 Euros have been distributed to schools for this purpose. No other schemes with similar potential to fully harness the environmental and social benefits from the collection and conversion of domestically produced used cooking oil have been found in literature. This publication can therefore significantly contribute to the knowledge base and facilitate the transfer of this scheme elsewhere