The manual is a practical guide to implementing the ‘Common List of Waste Categories’ - a standard list of types of waste commonly found in the marine environment, agreed by EU Member States.

 The list explicitly takes into account the elements governed by the EU Disposable Plastics Directive (SUP). Its consistent use by EU Member States will allow the evaluation of the effectiveness of this Directive in reducing SUP waste on beaches and at sea. The common catalog standardises the performance of macro-waste (i.e. relatively large waste, 2.5 cm), from plastic bottles to cigarette butts, to clearly defined types of waste.

 The manual accompanying the common directory explains the system applied, its structure and also provides instructions on usage codes and suggestions for assessing the size of the waste.

 Its purpose is to provide those who carry out surveillance, an easy-to-understand system for recording objects found in the marine environment. As part of the commitment to combat marine litter under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), all EU Member States collect data on litter at beaches. This has led to the identification of the most common elements , the development of quantitative baselines and the agreement on setting a limit value for waste concentrations on beaches.

 One of the major lessons learned from the collection and analysis of data used as a basis for these steps, the need for more harmonized horizontal registration of waste, with a sufficient level of detail. Lack of harmonized marine litter monitoring methods has been identified as a major obstacle to knowledge exchange and coordination of measures, inside and outside the EU.