COLLECTING GHOST NETS IN THE BALTIC SEA - WWF

This essential requirement of modern civilization
must be fulfilled through a number of measures,
the most important of which are:
• increasing the share of renewable sources
in the production of energy and acquisition of
materials to offset the increasingly unfavourable
energy balance in the world;
• aiming at multiple use of materials and energy.
At present, there are no legal regulations in Poland
that would apply to the possibility or obligation of
disposal of ghost nets. However, it is impossible
to accept the current situation, where significant
amounts of fishing gear made of valuable polymers
are retrieved from the sea every year and then end
up in landfills as useless waste.
The legal act currently in force, regulating the problem
of waste disposal, is the Act of 14 December
2012 on waste. Article 18 paragraph 1 thereof stipulates
that “whoever engages in activities that generate
or may generate waste... should primarily prevent
the generation of waste and its adverse effect
on human life and health and on the environment…
Paragraphs 2 and 3 of this article are of particular
significance:
• Paragraph 2: If generation of waste could not
have been prevented, the waste holder is primarily
obliged to recover the waste;
• Paragraph 3 – The recovery referred to in paragraph
1 involves, in the first place, preparation
of waste, by the waste holder, for reuse or recycling,
or, if it is not possible for technological
reasons or unreasonable for environmental
or economic reasons, the waste should be
disposed of in a different manner.
Article 19, point 1. Public administration bodies
undertake measures, in the scope of their competences,
supporting the reuse of waste and preparation
of waste for reuse, in particular by:
• encouraging the creation of and supporting
multiple use and repair networks;
• creating economic incentives.
At present, there are no legal
regulations in Poland that would
apply to the possibility or obligation
of disposal of ghost nets.
It is noteworthy that article 18 stipulates the obligation
to recover waste, and article 19 imposes the
obligation on public administration to create economic
incentives to reuse waste. These are important
provisions in terms of the possibility of ghost
net disposal mentioned above (and in point 4.4).
© Martin HARVEY / WWF-Canon
FINAL REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED IN 2012
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