NL Report analyses plastic bottle caps found on the beach

Plastic caps are among the top 5 most deadly ocean trash items. Marine mammals, birds and fish see plastic bottle caps as food. In the summer of 2016, The North Sea Foundation and more than 2,000 volunteers picked up as many bottle caps as they could find along the Dutch North Sea coast. These caps were analysed 1 by 1.
The researchers found that more than 80% came from consumer drinks and food packaging. The most common colours found were blue and white and 80% of the bottle caps had no brand. More than 70% were damaged, ranging from slight to severe damage. This may indicate that the bottle caps had been floating at sea for a long time (News Item North Sea Foundation, 7 June 2017).
Click here for the news item.
Click here for the report (1.51 MB).
Click here for more information about the NVC Project PUMA: the end of packaging as an environmental issue. You are welcome to join us for the next project meeting on 4 April 2018.
Click here for more information about the NVC Inspiration meeting on the effectiveness of the Dutch policy on packaging and the environment (5 September 2017).

This news item is also included in our monthly overview, the NVC Members-only Update. If you have any questions, please contact us: info@nvc.nl, +31-(0)182-512411.