Marine waste, due to current conditions, poses a particular problem on the beaches along the west coast of Jutland. The highest levels of waste in 2015 were recorded on the Skagerrak beach at Skagen with 2146-9137 pieces of waste per 100 m, followed by 191-413 pieces of waste at Nymindegab, and 31-204 pieces of waste per 100 m by the beaches of the Baltic Sea and Roskilde Fjord. Plastics were the dominant material type, accounting for 48-84%.

Plastic is the predominant waste trapped in the trawls, as it is present at almost every station. The highest amount of plastic in the period 2011-2016 is 4.52 kg / km2. If instead of weight is seen on the number of waste pieces, the data series is shorter, since registration of the number was included in the monitoring method later. The number of plastic pieces in the period 2013-2016 ranges between 5.5 and 7.6 pieces / km2 in the North Sea and between 3.1 and 3.8 pieces / km2 in the Baltic Sea. It is not possible to conclude whether there are significant trends, as the time series are still too short.

In 2015, sediment samples from both the North Sea and inland Danish waters were collected and analyzed for microplastics in the size of 20-5000 µm. The results show that microplastics are present in all samples in amounts of 192-3511 particles per kg of sediment (dry weight). The smallest particle sizes are dominant and fibers are the most frequent type of particle. In terms of color composition, blue particles constituted the largest group, but a chemical analysis of the plastic type was not performed. However, the analysis results must be used with caution as the methods of collection, processing and analysis are constantly evolving.

Data for microplastics in Danish surface water are few and not systematically collected. There are data on micro-plastic in Danish surface water for the following areas: the North Sea, the Kattegat / Northern Sound, the Belt Sea and the Baltic Sea. Microplastics are present in all areas where data have been collected, however, at concentrations that are significantly lower than in the marine concentration zones, e.g. has been observed in the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian Ocean and Mediterranean. Data has been collected using a variety of methods, and standardized methods for collection and analysis are lacking.

In 2013 and 2016, the Danish Nature Agency (now the Danish Environmental Protection Agency) conducted studies on microplastics in fish stomachs, where microparticles were found in ca. 20-30% of the fish stomachs.

In the years 2012-2016, 95% of fulmars had plastic in their stomachs. On average, they had 23 plastic particles in the stomach with a total weight of 0.25 grams. 47% of birds had over 0.1 grams of plastic in their stomachs. OSPAR's long-term goal that a maximum of 10% of birds may have more than 0.1 grams of plastic in their stomachs has not been achieved. However, the number of birds collected in Denmark is slightly lower than the average for the entire North Sea and thus indicates that the waters near Denmark are cleaner than the average for the total North Sea. The Danish sample sizes are very small and it is therefore difficult to detect a significant trend. However, when looking at the overall OSPAR area, no significant trend is observed over the last 10 years.