Solutions to plastic pollution in the Baltic Sea region

Every year, around 10 million tonnes of plastic waste end up in the oceans. Plastic pollution remains a growing threat to both ecosystems and the economy. Although most waste comes from everyday consumption, significant amounts still make their way into rivers and coastal areas, mainly due to mismanagement.

On 21 May 2026, experts, public authorities, businesses, researchers, and civil society organizations from across the Baltic Sea region gathered in Malmö for the international Flow of Plastic conference, marking the conclusion of three years of collaboration under the Circular Ocean-bound Plastic (COP) and Retail ReLooped (RELOOPED) projects to address this pressing challenge.

Throughout the day, participants explored innovative approaches to plastic prevention, collection, reuse, and recycling, mainly from water channels to prevent waste from entering the oceans. The programme featured solutions developed and tested across Denmark, Germany, Poland, Sweden, and Lithuania, as well as discussions on circular business models, consumer behavior, and EU policy developments related to plastic in the retail industry and marine pollution.

A key outcome presented during the conference was the RELOOPED digital toolkit (https://relooped.eu/toolkit/), developed to support the retail sector in transitioning toward circular plastic packaging systems. The toolkit includes tested case studies and practical solutions, including reusable coffee cup systems, reusable packaging for bulk goods, reusable takeaway packaging in university canteens, and biological plastic decomposition methods using insect larvae.

The COP project, recognised as an “Operation of Strategic Importance” by EU Interreg South Baltic programme, also presented results from pilot activities carried out in Gdańsk in Poland, Rostock in Germany, and Aarhus in Denmark, where more than 20,000 pieces of waste were collected and analyzed to better understand how plastics enter waterways and the Baltic Sea.

“Once it reaches the waterways, plastic pollution knows no national boundaries. It is a problem that requires broad collaboration. The project has gathered data from pilot actions and stakeholder workshops in several coastal cities around the South Baltic Sea and looks forward to be able to share a roadmap for reducing ocean-bound plastic pollution for municipalities in near future.

In his welcome speech, Hugo Sobral, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission, highlighted the importance of international collaboration in tackling environmental challenges, like plastic pollution: “What the programme demonstrates is the power of multinational partnership. This is the European spirit in action, from coastlines to inland communities, driven by a shared vision for a blue and green future.”

The conference also welcomed representatives from the Interreg South Baltic Programme, the European Environment Agency, the Polish Plastic Pact, municipalities, universities, NGOs, and private companies working actively with circular economy solutions and plastic reduction initiatives. The conference aims to exchange best practices, learn from each other, and scale solutions that can bring real change. It is also about transforming practical experience into knowledge that others can use in future projects, partnerships, policies, and everyday solutions.

The event demonstrated the strength of cross-sector and cross-border cooperation in addressing shared environmental challenges in the Baltic Sea region – and highlighted the importance of continuing these efforts beyond the lifetime of the projects.