Through National Plastic Coordination, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for efforts on sustainable plastic use in Sweden. In this work, the Agency is collaborating with a number of other stakeholders. The work includes identifying and filling prioritised knowledge gaps that currently prevent us from attaining that goal. The research agenda aims to provide supporting documentation for a needs-driven prioritisation of research and innovation efforts, facilitating the development of measures, policies and legislation to reduce potential risks with and the release of microplastics.
It begins by describing the knowledge needs at an overarching level, and then specifically for important sources of microplastics already identified. Based on the Swedish EPA’s Roadmap for the sustainable use of plastics, the following obstacles significantly impede efforts to reduce the leakage of microplastics into the environment, making them the focus of this agenda:
• Difficulties in assessing health and environmental risks from microplastic releases.
• Difficulties in assessing the cost-efficiency of measures.
• Lack of harmonised and standardised measurement and analysis methods.
• Lack of solutions for reducing leakage of microplastics from certain flows.
Actions highlighted in the agenda have been prioritised according to the following criteria:
• Potential to improve conditions for cost-efficient and effective policies and measures to prevent or reduce the release of microplastics. The size of the microplastic flow being addressed is taken into consideration when assessing this potential.
• Efforts that increase knowledge about preventing and reducing risks to human health and the environment from microplastics.
• How well the response corresponds with the European Commission’s Zero Pollution Hierarchy, as stated in the EU’s Zero Pollution Action Plan.
• Potential to further contribute to Sweden’s environmental objectives and Agenda 2030 by also addressing other environmental challenges, such as sustainable stormwater management and reduced exposure to hazardous substances.
Stockholm: Naturvårdsverket, 2023. , p. 31