| August 20th, 2026 | News

The SOS-ZEROPOL2030 project has released three new deliverables that mark an important step towards turning Europe’s zero-pollution ambition into action: D5.2 on tyre wear particles, D5.3 on PFAS, and D5.4 on practical guidance for addressing marine pollution more broadly.

Together, the three deliverables strengthen the project’s central message: pollution reaching the sea cannot be tackled effectively by looking at the marine environment alone. Effective action requires understanding pollution from its source, through rivers and other pathways, to the sea, while bringing together science, policy, industry and society.

The SOS-ZEROPOL2030 project is developing a holistic framework to help guide Europe towards zero pollution in its seas by 2030. Its project resources are designed to inform decision-makers and other stakeholders about the sources, pathways and impacts of pollution and the actions needed to address them.

From tyres to the sea: tackling an overlooked source of pollution

The new D5.2 Tyre wear particles guidance to zero pollution in our seas, published on 13 July 2026, focuses on tyre wear particles (TWPs), an increasingly important but often overlooked source of pollution in aquatic environments.

Every journey by road can contribute to the release of tiny particles from vehicle tyres. These particles are more than a microplastic problem: tyre wear particles can contain or carry a complex mixture of associated chemicals, some of which are toxic, persistent and still poorly understood.

Once released, TWPs can move through different environmental pathways, including road runoff, atmospheric transport and wastewater systems. They can ultimately reach freshwater and marine environments, where sediments can act as long-term sinks.

D5.2 translates the scientific and technical knowledge developed through SOS-ZEROPOL2030 into recommendations aimed at preventing, reducing and mitigating TWP pollution. The guidance is intended for policymakers, decision-makers and other stakeholders who can influence how tyre wear pollution is addressed.

Importantly, the deliverable also highlights that solutions are not purely technical. Awareness, behavioural change and societal engagement will be important for successful implementation, while questions around costs, feasibility, cost-effectiveness and potential trade-offs need further attention.

This makes tyre wear a clear example of why a source-to-sea perspective is needed: a pollution problem observed in the ocean may begin much earlier, on roads and in transport systems.

Addressing the challenge of “forever chemicals”

The second new deliverable, D5.3 PFAS-specific guidance to zero pollution in our seas, turns the project’s attention to one of the most persistent groups of synthetic chemicals: per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.

Often described as “forever chemicals”, PFAS comprise a very large group of more than 12,000 human-made substances. They have been widely used in applications ranging from metal plating and fluoropolymer and semiconductor manufacturing to firefighting foams and water-repellent consumer products.

Their environmental persistence presents a particular challenge. The strong carbon–fluorine bonds characteristic of many PFAS make them highly resistant to natural degradation. Different PFAS can also behave very differently in the environment: they can move through water and sediments, accumulate in organisms or travel long distances through the atmosphere and water. This means contamination can extend far beyond the location where PFAS were originally released.

D5.3 therefore advocates an integrated source-to-sea and life-cycle approach, bringing together regulatory, technological and societal measures. The guidance translates SOS-ZEROPOL2030’s scientific and technical findings into recommendations for preventing, reducing and managing PFAS pollution in European seas.

The challenge is particularly significant because reducing PFAS pollution is not simply a matter of cleaning up contaminated marine environments. Preventing releases, improving knowledge and monitoring, addressing uses and emissions, and coordinating action across sectors and governance levels are all part of the response.

Moving from knowledge to practical action

The third deliverable, D5.4 Practical Guidance towards zero pollution in our seas, takes a broader view. It addresses the complexity of pollution sources, pathways and impacts across interconnected terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments.

D5.4 brings the project’s work towards a common practical objective: helping stakeholders move from understanding pollution to implementing solutions.

This broader perspective is important because the challenges highlighted by the TWP and PFAS guidance are not isolated. European seas receive pollutants generated by a wide range of human activities, and these pollutants can cross administrative boundaries and environmental compartments before reaching the marine environment.

SOS-ZEROPOL2030’s wider work has already examined governance challenges, best practices and future scenarios for PFAS and tyre wear particles in different European regional seas. Earlier project work, for example, identified PFAS in the North-East Atlantic and Black Sea regions and TWPs in the Mediterranean as case studies for exploring pathways towards zero marine pollution.

D5.4 builds on this body of work by providing a practical bridge between the project’s strategic ambition and implementation on the ground.

A common thread: prevention, cooperation and a source-to-sea approach

Although D5.2, D5.3 and D5.4 focus on different levels of the pollution challenge, they share a common foundation.

First, prevention matters. Once persistent chemicals or particles have entered the environment, removing them can be difficult, expensive or impossible. Tackling pollution closer to its source therefore offers an important opportunity to reduce environmental pressures before they reach rivers, coastal waters and seas.

Second, pollution does not respect sectoral boundaries. Transport, manufacturing, agriculture, waste management, wastewater treatment, consumer products and marine activities can all be connected through pollution pathways. Effective solutions therefore require cooperation across sectors and levels of governance.

Third, science needs to be translated into action. The three deliverables are part of SOS-ZEROPOL2030’s effort to make scientific evidence useful to policymakers, practitioners and other stakeholders. The project’s resources explicitly aim to inform a holistic zero-pollution framework for European seas by 2030.

And finally, stakeholder engagement is essential. The project has developed its zero-pollution framework through stakeholder-oriented approaches, including regional Living Labs, with the aim of connecting scientific knowledge with the realities faced by policymakers, industry, civil society and other actors.

Building the pathway towards 2030

The three new deliverables arrive as SOS-ZEROPOL2030 moves into an important phase of translating its research into tools and pathways for implementation. They complement the project’s D5.1 Strategic Zero Pollution Framework and sit alongside the D5.5 Roadmap, which is designed as an interactive decision-support tool for turning Europe’s zero-pollution ambition into a practical roadmap for action.

Taken together, these outputs provide a progression from strategy, to pollutant-specific knowledge, to practical guidance and implementation.

For tyre wear particles, the message is that pollution generated by everyday mobility needs to be addressed before it reaches the sea. For PFAS, the persistence and diversity of these chemicals underline the importance of prevention, life-cycle thinking and coordinated governance. And for zero pollution more broadly, D5.4 emphasises the need to connect action across land, freshwater and marine environments.

Achieving zero pollution in European seas will ultimately depend on what happens beyond the coastline. The release of these three deliverables reinforces SOS-ZEROPOL2030’s source-to-sea approach and provides stakeholders with new evidence and guidance to help turn the ambition of healthier, more resilient European seas into concrete action.

Explore the new deliverables:
D5.2 – Tyre wear particles guidance to zero pollution in our seas
D5.3 – PFAS-specific guidance to zero pollution in our seas
D5.4 – Practical Guidance towards zero pollution in our seas