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Beach Litter Falls by 30-45% Across European Beaches Since 2015 Report Shows

Litter on European beaches from the Baltic to the Aegean is falling, according to a new report. If you’ve ever rented in Europe, or you’re a

"Litter on European beaches from the Baltic to the Aegean is falling, according to a new report.

If you’ve ever rented in Europe, or you’re a European and you live there, there’s a good chance you’ve had to comply with the strict waste control standards that require you to separate trash into several categories.

If that’s the case, and if it’s a pain in the neck sometimes, well crack a smile, because the hard work is paying off in one of the best, perfectly-tangible ways: how much trash is on European beaches.

In its latest EU Coastline Macro Litter Trend report, the Joint Research Center of the European Union has found that between 2015 and 2021 total beach litter has fallen 30%, with the biggest reductions seen in single-use plastic items (40%). The density was measured in pieces per 100 meters.

Pictured: Infographic via the JCR at the European Commission. Zoom or open image in new tab for better quality.

Fisheries-related items decreased by 20% as were plastic bags. The beaches that improved the most were concentrated around the Baltic Sea (45%) while the despite the enormity of the Mediterranean, it too experienced a dramatic decline (38%).

The report gathered data on macro marine litter trends across 253 beaches, and was pursuant to tracking the EU Zero Pollution Action Plan’s Target 5a, which aims to reduce plastic litter at sea by 50% by 2030.

That target would be well on the way to being met, if the report is accurate. Mediterranean beaches are subject to some of the highest densities of beach goers anywhere in the world, and for the improvement to be so dramatic, with 150 fewer pieces of litter found on average across every 100 meters of sand or stones, is a testament to more than just tight regulations."

-via Good News Network, May 7, 2025

Good News Network

Emotional Officials Watch 17 Endangered Mountain Bongos Arrive in Kenya for Reintroduction

The struggle to keep one of the world's largest and rarest antelope species alive has taken a massive step forward in Kenya.

"The struggle to keep one of the world’s largest and rarest antelope species alive has taken a massive step forward in Kenya.

17 mountain bongos have been flown to Kenya from the Rare Species Conservation Center in Florida for eventual reintroduction into their natural habitat.

A subspecies of bongo, the largest of the forest-dwelling antelope, the eastern, or mountain bongo, numbers less than 100 individuals, and is listed by the IUCN as Critically-Endangered. More survive today in zoos than in the wild.

The history of the animal is an interesting one, as it’s believed to have become a forest species when climate change turned savannah areas into forests thousands of years ago. In the case of the mountain bongo, their home range is located in southern Kenya, on the slopes of Mount Kenya National Park and in the surrounding woodland.

They are the world’s third-largest antelope species behind the giant eland and common eland.

Pictured: Female mountain bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus isaaci) photographed at Mount Kenya National Park.

Tourism Minister Rebecca Miano described the arrival of the bongos at the country’s main airport on Sunday night as “emotional and so cool.”

The animals will first be kept in an acclimation center run by the Kenyan Wildlife Service (KWS) that will protect them while they re-hone their instincts for wild living.

Within three months, the BBC reports, the KWS will be welcoming another shipment of these bongo from captive breeding programs across Europe.

The last time a large shipment of animals like this made it to Kenya was in 2004, when 18 animals arrived safely. They successfully integrated with the wild population, and though some died of tick-borne diseases, it demonstrated that captive animals can successfully make it in the wild if given time and training."

-via Good News Network, February 26, 2025

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