Catalonia has recently experienced severe rain and wind storms. Their immediate effects have been clear: damage to infrastructure, supply chain interruptions, fallen trees and broken street furniture, ultimately resulting in disruption to daily life.

Another major consequence of heavy rain and wind is the volume of materials and waste that end up on our beaches. Statistics show that 70% of the waste found at sea comes from land, while the remaining 30% originates from maritime activity. Fragments of bags, bottles, plastic plates, tins and all kinds of litter left outside bins or discarded in the open environment are washed into drains or riverbeds and eventually make their way to our beaches and out into open water.

We do not yet have figures for the waste generated by the storms that hit Catalonia in January and February, but global data on the presence of plastics in the sea are alarming. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, by 2050, the oceans could contain more plastic than fish.*

Single-use plastics are the main category of waste that is blown or carried by rivers into the sea, where they cause pollution. For years, countries have been attempting to reach an international agreement on plastics, including the gradual elimination of hazardous single-use plastics, the promotion of eco-design and increased recycling. However, negotiations are not progressing in the right direction.**

There is no alternative but to act as highly responsible consumers, as plastics have serious negative impacts on both the environment and human health. Storms are natural phenomena; the presence of plastics in the natural environment is not.