Seite - 260 - in Freshwater Microplastics - Emerging Environmental Contaminants?

instrumentsmight be transferable to the regulation ofMP in freshwater environ- ments. InFig. 2, someexamples are categorized according to the threemain types of environmental policy into “regulative,” “economic,” and “persuasive” instru- ments. Each category comprises instruments from different statutory and imple- mentation levels.Withineachmaincategory,werated the instruments from“hard” to“soft,” dependingonhowstrictmeasureswouldaffect the applicationof certain materials. On the horizontal scale, the figure emphasizes the gradient from a “direct” to an “indirect” influence of the regulatory action. The figure does not providea full compilationofpolicy toolsbut rathergivesanoverviewof the range ofpossible instrumentsondifferent implementation levels that couldbeof interest for the regulationofMP. In the case of MPs, the choice of regulatory instruments depends on several aspects. It is conceivable that “command and control” (CaC, Fig. 2) instruments suchasbansor limitationscouldeitherapply tocertainpolymers, toadditives,or to their combination.Similarly, theycouldbe limited toacertainfieldofapplication. Measures targeted on certain fields of application could either relate to specific Command and Control • Bans • Limitations • Technical standards Liability • Product responsibility • Fines for spillages Voluntary approaches • Commitments Financial Burdens • Charges • Taxes Requirements • Tradable permit system Financial incentives • Subsidies Research funding • Technical improvement Information • Product labeling • Public campaigns Regulatory instruments Economic instruments Persuasive instruments “hard“ “soft“ “indirect““direct“ Education • Awareness- rising • Re-thinking Fig.2 Instrumentsofenvironmentalpolicy,whichmightbeapplicable toa regulationof (micro) plastics in freshwater environments (basedon [68]) 260 N.Brennholt et al.