About 40 tonnes of plastic waste is carried into Austria through the Danube River each year, a study presented by Austrian Minister of Agriculture Andrae Rupprechter at a press conference on Thursday showed.

The study carried out by Environment Agency Austria in conjunction with an international team in other countries through which the Danube passes was the first in which the Danube had systematically been examined for plastic residue, as opposed to only smaller sections.

In order to check how much plastic flows in from other countries, about 300 water samples were taken near the entry point of the Danube in Aschach in the state of Upper Austria, and also at its exit point in Hainburg in Lower Austria.

87 percent of the plastic came from "diffuse" sources such as discarded household goods, fibers, films, and other plastic that could not be categorized. The remaining 13 percent was made of raw industrial materials, in particular plastic pellets and flakes.

"Unfortunately with our lifestyle in Austria we also make a contribution," said deputy managing director of the Environment Agency Austria Karl Kienzl.

Minister of Agriculture Andrae Rupprechter said "plastic does not belong in the Danube,"and that the data now allows for "further steps to attack the problem."

He proposed a ten-point program to tackle the problem, including an EU-wide upper limit for plastic in water bodies along with uniform measurement methods, as well as a voluntary "zero pellets loss initiative" for industry, to reduce pollution through technological improvement. Littering by individuals should also be curbed, he added. Enditem

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