Noise, microplastics, waste: People and the environment still suffer from too high pollution in the EU.
This emerges from a new report by the EU Commission and the European Environment Agency (EEA). Progresses have been made, but “much stronger measures” are necessary in order to achieve goals set by themselves.
According to the report, cities in particular are affected by harmful traffic noise. The proportion of people who are chronically disturbed by traffic noise is to be reduced by 30 percent by 2030, but since 2017 only a decrease of two percent has been reached.
More microplastics, more waste
The air overall has become cleaner, but “the number of deaths from dirty air is still too high,” said the Commission. The information also remains a problem for microplastics. The artificial particles arise, for example, by tire abrasion or, for example, get into the environment through textiles or cosmetic products. According to the report, the release of microplastics has increased by around seven to nine percent since 2016. The aim is that it should decrease by 30 percent by 2030.
In addition, the waste volume in the EU continues to grow. Despite efforts for a circular economy – for example more recycling and reuse – the amount of garbage produced does not decrease. According to the report, environmental pollution from agriculture is still high.