Plastic ‘Highways’ to the Sea: The Problem of Litter in English Inland Waterways
There is a conspicuous lacuna in the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) 1990 because it imposes no legal duty on statutory bodies to clear litter from aquatic environments (rivers, canals and lakes) in England and Wales. This paper identifies a significant gap in the law on aquatic environmental pro...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Social Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/10/12/473 |
| _version_ | 1797500574110842880 |
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| author | Samantha Davey |
| author_facet | Samantha Davey |
| author_sort | Samantha Davey |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | There is a conspicuous lacuna in the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) 1990 because it imposes no legal duty on statutory bodies to clear litter from aquatic environments (rivers, canals and lakes) in England and Wales. This paper identifies a significant gap in the law on aquatic environmental protection by undertaking doctrinal research, including contextual analysis of references to rivers in ‘soft’ law (e.g., policy documents such as the Conservative Government’s Litter Strategy) and ‘hard law’ (e.g., legislation including the EPA 1990); an examination of the problems with existing legal frameworks in this sphere and an exploration of legislative and practical measures which could protect our rivers and other inland waterways from litter. A legislative amendment to the EPA is proposed with discussion of whether imposing a duty on an existing body or a new, specialised body to clear litter from rivers will ameliorate these problems. The intention behind this paper is to initiate an informed debate on how to protect aquatic environments from the harmful effects of litter. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:05:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6b5e6d3ac9ad458788bb6e236ad97e15 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0760 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:05:46Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Social Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-6b5e6d3ac9ad458788bb6e236ad97e152023-11-23T10:34:12ZengMDPI AGSocial Sciences2076-07602021-12-01101247310.3390/socsci10120473Plastic ‘Highways’ to the Sea: The Problem of Litter in English Inland WaterwaysSamantha Davey0School of Law, University of Essex, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UKThere is a conspicuous lacuna in the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) 1990 because it imposes no legal duty on statutory bodies to clear litter from aquatic environments (rivers, canals and lakes) in England and Wales. This paper identifies a significant gap in the law on aquatic environmental protection by undertaking doctrinal research, including contextual analysis of references to rivers in ‘soft’ law (e.g., policy documents such as the Conservative Government’s Litter Strategy) and ‘hard law’ (e.g., legislation including the EPA 1990); an examination of the problems with existing legal frameworks in this sphere and an exploration of legislative and practical measures which could protect our rivers and other inland waterways from litter. A legislative amendment to the EPA is proposed with discussion of whether imposing a duty on an existing body or a new, specialised body to clear litter from rivers will ameliorate these problems. The intention behind this paper is to initiate an informed debate on how to protect aquatic environments from the harmful effects of litter.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/10/12/473aquatic littermarine litternational litter strategyriversriparian ownersenvironment |
| spellingShingle | Samantha Davey Plastic ‘Highways’ to the Sea: The Problem of Litter in English Inland Waterways Social Sciences aquatic litter marine litter national litter strategy rivers riparian owners environment |
| title | Plastic ‘Highways’ to the Sea: The Problem of Litter in English Inland Waterways |
| title_full | Plastic ‘Highways’ to the Sea: The Problem of Litter in English Inland Waterways |
| title_fullStr | Plastic ‘Highways’ to the Sea: The Problem of Litter in English Inland Waterways |
| title_full_unstemmed | Plastic ‘Highways’ to the Sea: The Problem of Litter in English Inland Waterways |
| title_short | Plastic ‘Highways’ to the Sea: The Problem of Litter in English Inland Waterways |
| title_sort | plastic highways to the sea the problem of litter in english inland waterways |
| topic | aquatic litter marine litter national litter strategy rivers riparian owners environment |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/10/12/473 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT samanthadavey plastichighwaystotheseatheproblemoflitterinenglishinlandwaterways |