Nothing is being done under the Bucharest Convention because of the war, Nikola Bobchev, founder of the LessPlastic Bulgaria foundation, told Bulgarian National Radio (BNR). He says that in winter the sea washes waste from abroad onto the Bulgarian coast, including from every Black Sea country.

Bobchev is a PhD student at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences' marine laboratory in Sozopol. He also organises the "Clean Christmas" beach clean-ups.

The Bucharest Convention protects the Black Sea from pollution. It is one of several agreements signed for the sea. Bobchev says it carries no penalties and cannot impose sanctions on any country.

Reports on the environmental effects of shipping and military action are written at the Black Sea Commission, where scientists from the six countries with a Black Sea coast work. "Right now, because of the fighting, scientists cannot work together, and such reports are hard to get," Bobchev said. Reports still come out, even without the data they need.

He says the EU could step in, and some kind of fund should be considered for this. After the war, countries such as Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey could get help from it to deepen their research.

How far debris and cargo from ships hit in the north spread depends on currents, weight, volume and whether they float or sink. Some of it washes ashore, and some stays on the seabed for good. Wrecks still lie on the bottom, and when the water temperature changes, their fuel or fuel oil turns liquid and rises to the surface. That pollutes the coast from time to time.

Bobchev does not find it strange that the sea throws up foreign waste in winter. In summer people do not notice it, because the beaches are cleaned every day. In winter the rubbish stays on the shore until someone collects it.

"When ships follow their routes, they do not carry their waste to the nearest port. They dump it in the open sea," he explained. Currents pile it up on the Bulgarian coast or on the coasts of Romania and Turkey. Winter waste here comes mostly from these two countries, mainly yoghurt tubs and water bottles.

The foundation's regular clean-ups have turned up many foreign items of different ages. Some are marked USSR, and in one year they included an ice cream tub from Georgia.

The foundation is preparing for the next "Clean Christmas". No other coastal clean-up is planned for now.