Pollution of living waters can be curbed

The findings of Eurofins have also contributed to the policy guidance on river waste pollution in the Danube catchment area, and the research continues with the MicroDrink project.

The INTERREG DTP Tid(y)Up project, co-financed by European Union Funds (ERDF, IPA, ENI) and with financial contributions from partner countries and institutions, offers a set of generally applicable recommendations based on good practices and proven tools for citizens, researchers and policy makers. These good practices can be applied to other polluted rivers, thus helping to protect river ecosystems around the world. The study was carried out with the technical and financial support of Eurofins.

Effective cross-border waste, water and catchment area management requires close cooperation and a strong partnerships between countries. The Danube countries have already made considerable efforts in the management of "traditional" pollutants (e.g., organic substances, nutrients) and certain micro-pollutants, but macro-scale river pollution is a recent problem for which no basin-wide management strategy has yet been developed. This is where the study and its authors can play a major role.

The overview of the Danube River Basin (DRB). Source: ICPDR

What is included in the study?

The policy guide provides recommendations for the necessary regulatory measures to develop adequate waste management systems and to reduce illegal dumping (e.g., review of existing waste management facilities), proposes financial and planning instruments to support these measures (e.g., environmental deposits), highlights the most important strategic interventions in line with the waste hierarchy and prioritizing waste management options according to environmental benefits. It stresses that, in addition to the previous steps, effective monitoring of plastic pollution and regular and comprehensive river clean-up activities should be closely coordinated, and underlines that education and public awareness-raising and change of attitude are also essential elements for a more responsible and sustainable management of plastics and other wastes.

Eurofins Analytical Services Hungary Kft. also contributed to the publication of the document as a sponsor and professional partner: several previous Hungarian studies by Dr. Gábor Bordós, head of the Eurofins Microplastics Laboratory, and his research team are included in the volume.

First and foremost, the results of the water and sediment samples from fish ponds were the first in Hungary to draw attention to the environmental presence of microplastics, and the experience and results of the Upper Tisza sampling and the Tiny Plastic Puzzle scientific awareness project in the Danube and its tributaries enabled Eurofins to provide reliable information and services to support microplastics investigations in the Tid(y) Up project. In addition to the experience gained in surface waters, the policy guidance also builds on the detailed report compiled during the survey of wastewater treatment plants along the Danube.

The authors of the study point out that in the last decade Hungarian river protection methods and efforts have become among the best in the world. The main driving force behind this is the PET Cup, a civil society initiative that has been able to build on decades of experience in water and waste management to make river clean-ups attractive. It has benefited from the support, overtime and volunteer work of hundreds of people, including colleagues from ministries, authorities, water directorates and waste management utilities. ‍

"What works in the world's most international river basin is likely to work elsewhere. Our successes are due to broad collaborations, because once water management, waste management, the civil sector, municipalities, academia and the green industry start working together, the symbiosis can lead to cost-effective protection, mitigation and utilization." - said Gergely Hankó, Executive Director of the Hungarian Association of Environmental Enterprises (KSZGYSZ).

This follows the Tid(y)Up project, which ran between 2020 and 2022 and established its international reputation as an EU flagship project, helping to deliver key documents and professional advances. The Tisza Round Tables were extended to all Tisza countries, along which the participating organizations - 21 in total - from Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria and Ukraine, prepared a new international and national legal and environmental assessment of surface water quality in the project countries:
„Survey - National Legislative System on Surface Water Quality”

This long needed document provided a comprehensive overview of the relevant sector-specific legislation, the institutional structure in each country and the mechanisms related to pollution.

This has been used as a basis for the current policy guide, the importance of which has been recognized by the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR), which has participated in its development. The authors have presented at a dozen international conferences, including the ICPDR Working Group meetings, the conference of the Carpathian Convention, the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) Congress, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Conference and the UN Global Plastics Convention (GPC) technical and preparatory webinars.

Plastic pollution is a major concern at global and EU level, and the UN Convention on plastic pollution, currently under negotiation, could bring drastic and necessary changes. The EU has already adopted a Plastics Strategy on the sustainable and safe use of plastics.

To this process and work, the PET Cup and the team of experts of the KSZGYSZ aim to provide field experience and scientific results. In particular, observations in the Upper Tisza and Drina river basins have shown that heavy waste pollution during floods causes severe damage to the normally protected river floodplains (Natura 2000 sites) and to the functioning of water management facilities, and also compromises drinking water quality.

This is mainly due to the complete absence of waste collection systems or their operational inefficiencies (in Transcarpathia, 200 municipalities have no organized waste collection). The study takes a complex approach to driving forces and problem solving, therefore it examines the situation of extended producer responsibility systems (EPR-system) in the countries concerned, the expected introduction of deposit return systems (DRS) and the negative incentives related to illegally abandoned waste.

Download the full paper here

The work continues, with one of the gems being the INTERREG Aquatic Plastics project, which started on January 1, where 13 organizations from nine countries will work closely together over two and a half years to research micro- and macro-plastics, map river pollution, clean up pollution sources, organize professional round table discussions and give scientific presentations. We advise you to follow the PET Cup and the Aquatic Plastic project web sites.

Launch of the MicroDrink project

The launch meeting of the MicroDrink project was held in Zagreb between March 6 and 8, 2024, with the participation of 8 countries (Croatia, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany, Slovenia and Serbia) and 11 partner institutions.

One of the main objectives of the MicroDrink project is to build capacity on microplastics issues in drinking water treatment plants (from source to tap) and to conduct related sampling experiments, knowledge transfer and laboratory testing (Eurofins is actively involved in this area). The kick-off meeting provided an excellent opportunity to foster professional collaboration and discuss emerging issues, thus laying the foundations for the successful progress of the project and its important results, which will be widely communicated. The MicroDrink project of the Interreg Danube Region Programme is co-financed by the European Union with financial contributions from partner countries and institutions.

Flowchart of waste pollution of rivers and seas

Microplastic particles in water samples from the Danube

Global plastic production and the multidirectional flow of plastic waste.

Percentage distribution of waste processing methods in relation to the total amount of treated waste in the Danube Countries