Onderzoeksrapporten

From 2023 onwards, RWS's information needs and the beach litter monitoring results, for easy reading by a broader public, are described in the annual report part l: Status and Trends (Maas & Hougee, 2024). This report, the separate methods report, is designed for the specialistic reader and provides an overview of all deviations and changes that have occurred in the applied methods (such as the software, survey sites) from the start of the beach litter monitoring programme to the last monitoring year.

This report provides an annual update of Dutch beach litter monitoring data and analysis results for the periods 2021-2023 (status analysis) and 2018-2023 (trend analysis), respectively.

Marine litter causing substantial socio-economic and ecological harm, has been identified as a major global environmental problem

Large quantities of marine litter are washed ashore worldwide. Marine litter is an environmental concern of global scale that may harm species in our seas; it affects the ecological, social, and economic status of coastal areas. Qualitative and quantitative information about marine litter in our seas and oceans is required for policy development aiming to reduce marine litter and/or to assess effectiveness of existing programmes of measures.
This annual report provides an overview of the Dutch beach monitoring and analysis results for 2011-2016.