On August 31 in Gdynia, the second conference was held as part of the update of the marine water protection program (aPOWM). Preventing degradation of the marine environment, limiting pollution and restoring ecosystems are part of the activities for the Baltic Sea, indicated in the consulted document.

– This is a key document in the protection of the waters of the Baltic Sea. The activities planned therein are to bring us closer to achieving their good condition – said Małgorzata Bogucka-Szymalska, Deputy Director of the Maritime Economy and Inland Navigation Department at the Ministry of Infrastructure.

The aPOWM project involves nearly 60 activities to improve the condition of the Baltic Sea waters, from soft measures – cleaning beaches from rubbish (a program of fishing nets – ghosts, cleaning river banks, cleaning beaches by lakes, equipping municipalities with modern beach cleaning equipment, by combating underwater noise to systemic solutions to stop the eutrophication of the reservoir.

– The Baltic Sea is a specific sea, extremely sensitive to the effects of human activity. We must remember that as much as 99.7% of Poland lies in the Baltic basin and is fed by the two largest rivers in the entire basin: the Vistula and the Oder. Improving the cleanliness of the Baltic Sea depends on what we do onshore: in every home, enterprise, institution and farm – said Przemysław Gruszecki, Director of the Department of Water Environment Management at State Water Holding Polish Waters.

Waste depositing in the Baltic Sea is becoming a growing problem. The waters flowing into the Baltic Sea carry not only nutrients. What flows through them is largely the effect of washing away all kinds of rubbish thrown into them and illegal landfills in river valleys. As much as 70% of the mass of waste is plastic, which flows into the river and travels with the current, sometimes settling on the shore or its bottom, but a significant part of it ends up as far as the sea. The plastic often breaks down into small pieces, releasing harmful microplastics. One of its sources is plastic bottles. Studies show that those who drink water in plastic bottles every day, may consume more than 22 times more (90,000) microplastics per year than people who drink the same amount of tap water (4,000).

In addition to the development of planning documents required by EU and national regulations, State Water Holding Polish Waters put a lot of emphasis on educational activities, such as the campaign “Water is not a rubbish” or the competition, addressed to small entrepreneurs.

The conference was attended by specialists from the Ministry of Infrastructure, the Polish Water Authority and experts. Thanks to the online transmission, representatives of environmental organizations, offices, as well as private individuals could participate in the discussion by asking questions in the chat.

Let’s save the sea together!