Plastic pollution is one of the world’s biggest environmental problems. It pollutes the ocean, finds its way into food chains and is a major contributor to biodiversity loss.
What action is being taken to tackle plastic pollution?
in 2018, then Prime Minister Theresa May announced the UK Government’s 25 year environmental plan, including a pledge to eradicate all ‘avoidable plastic waste’ in the UK by 2042.
What progress have we made on plastic pollution since then?
The issue of plastic pollution has been climbing the public agenda for a while
In 2016, a report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation warned that there will be more waste plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050 unless the industry changes significantly.
At the end of 2017 Blue Planet 2 showed us shocking footage of how our plastic waste is affecting sea creatures, fish and birds.
Viewers witnessed a Hawksbill turtle get caught in a plastic sack (fortunately it was released by a camera operator), saw how microplastics are contributing to industrial pollution in marine life and were left heartbroken by a scene in which a pilot whale was filmed carrying her dead newborn, reluctant to let go, after it was possibly poisoned by pollution in the oceans.
Sir David Attenborough explained that it’s possible the calf was poisoned by its mother’s contaminated milk, in the same way that plastic is entering the human food chain when we eat fish from polluted waters.
The problem came a lot closer to home at the start of 2018, when China implemented their ban on plastic waste imports
Previously China were the world’s largest recycler of scrap metals, plastic and paper, until they announced they were no longer willing to accept this waste.
The UK were exporting almost two-thirds of its total waste to China, with UK businesses shipping more than 2.7 million tons of plastic to China and Hong Kong since 2012.
Simon Ellin, chief executive of the Recycling Association, described the ban as a “game changer for the UK” and urged the Government to invest in recycling plants and infrastructure.
Global plastic production increased from 2 million metric tons in 1950 to 348 million metric tons in 2017. Yet much of this plastic is wasted: 86% of the world’s plastic waste in 2016 was either incinerated, sent to landfill or leaked into nature.
Despite China’s plastic ban, many countries still use international trade to manage their plastic waste
The UK, lacking capacity itself, exports 60% of its plastic waste abroad. But in a report, the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee – the group of MPs responsible for improving and protecting the environment – have called on the government to stop the export of UK plastic waste by the end of 2027.
The Government’s 25-year plan to improve the natural environment, includes a pledge to eradicate all ‘avoidable plastic waste’ in the UK by 2042 – but the announcement was met with mixed reactions.
In her speech, the Prime Minister called plastic waste “one of the great environmental scourges of our time” and said that in the UK alone we generate enough single-use plastic waste to fill 1,000 Royal Albert Halls every year.
The announcement came just days after the UK ban on microbeads came into effect
Plastic microbeads are used in some cosmetic and beauty products, but because they’re added to rinse-off products like face scrubs, toothpaste and shower gel (for their exfoliating properties) they end up in the ocean.
The manufacturing of products containing microbeads has now been banned and a full ban on the sale of products containing microbeads came into force in July 2018.
There have been other major wins in the fight against plastic pollution
Figures from The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) show that its single-use carrier bag charge has cut usage by 97% across the UK’s major retailers.
The 5p charge was introduced in supermarkets in 2015. Since then, usage at the main retailers has dropped by a staggering 97%.
The plastic bag charges were a relatively ‘quick win’, but it is a one-sided approach focused on consumer behaviour.
To truly tackle the problem with plastic waste we need a joined up approach that pressures business, industry, Government and consumers to break their plastic habit and make lasting changes.
Scotland and Wales are leading the way on single use plastics
In June 2022, Scotland became the first part of the UK to implement market restrictions on many of the most problematic single-use plastics.
The regulations effectively ban single-use plastic items including cutlery, plates, beverage stirrers, food containers and cups.
Around 700 million of these single-use plastic items were used in Scotland each year before the ban.
In September 2022 a similar bill banning single-use plastics was laid before the Senedd in Wales.
A Plastic Packaging Tax also came into effect from 1 April 2022
Businesses manufacturing plastic packaging in the UK, or importing plastic packaging into the UK, may now be liable for a Plastic Packaging Tax.
The tax is payable on plastic packaging components which contain less than 30% recycled plastic.
Businesses that meet the manufacturing or importing thresholds now have to complete plastic packaging tax returns.
This could be a powerful motivating force to encourage big business to change their packaging and reduce the amount of plastic in their supply chain.
In 2018 the ‘sugar tax’ came into effect in the UK, charging manufacturers a levy on drinks with more than 5g of sugar per 100ml, in an attempt to tackle obesity and public health concerns.
An independent evaluation in 2020 showed that the number of eligible soft drinks liable for the tax fell from 52% before the levy was introduced, to just 15%.
Could a global Plastic Pollution treaty be agreed?
20 states have formed ‘The High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution’, which will work to ensure the world’s first ever plastic pollution treaty.
This plastics treaty will include global rules and regulations for the production, design and disposal of plastic – rather than a patchwork of national standards.
The Coalition aims to secure the elimination of plastic pollution by 2040.
What are the plastic alternatives?
Unfortunately it’s not necessarily as straightforward as simply banning plastic and replacing it with an alternative material.
Paper bags for example use more energy to create, are disposed of quicker and end up in landfill where they create greenhouse gases.
Supermarkets have come under fire for excess packaging on food (particularly fruit and vegetables), but plastic is needed for food wrap to preserve it.
One supermarket trialled giving up plastic food packaging and found that food waste increased by 50% – which is also bad for the environment.
Traditionally food supply chains were shorter so food preservation was less of an issue, but we have become accustomed to convenience shopping and moved away from seasonal eating our food miles have increased (which is a sustainability issue in itself).
Protective plastic wrapping has become a necessary part of the process.
And in some industries, plastic is essential and lifesaving.
In hospitals and healthcare settings, single use plastic is rife because it’s cheap, durable and sterile.
We should all be aiming to reduce needless plastic where we can (some food packaging is more for aesthetic value than preservation and therefore unnecessary), and get out of the habit of using disposable plastic items like coffee cups and water bottles where reusable options exist.
But until we have viable alternatives, and a truly sustainable solution for dealing with plastic waste, outright banning it is not an effective solution.
Material innovations are happening across industries
Scientists recently found that a caterpillar commercially bred for fishing bait has the ability to biodegrade polyethylene – one of the toughest and most widely used plastics.
Polyethylene takes between 100 and 400 years to degrade in landfill sites.
Vegan ‘spider silk’ is being tested as an alternative to single-use plastics. The material is home compostable, whereas other types of bioplastics need industrial composting facilities to degrade.
When synthetic, plastic-based materials like polyester are used in clothes, they leak harmful microplastics into our waterways, and contain harmful ‘forever chemicals’ which can build up in our blood and organs.
Thankfully, the fashion industry is full of innovation.
Many companies are experimenting with natural, plant-based alternatives including pineapple leather, mushroom leather, and even seaweed!
And when it comes to legacy plastic – the plastic already polluting the ocean – The Ocean Cleanup are developing and scaling technologies to eliminate the ‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch’ and clean up 1,000 rivers around the world to “turn off the tap” on plastic pollution.
Plastic is so widely used because it is so cheap to produce and highly durable, but the qualities that make it appealing for so many uses are also the qualities causing the issues.
The truth we don’t really know how long plastic lasts – it hasn’t been around long enough to find out. Research suggests that some plastic may last up to 1000 years.
If we’re ever going to make sustainable alternatives and methods of processing plastic mainstream, we need to incentivise their development and find solutions that don’t create bigger problems elsewhere.
The answers to plastic pollution might not be clear cut, and there is still a way to go to find viable alternatives and clear up the mess we’ve already made – but progress is happening, from consumers, to corporations, to governments.
If you want to take action against plastic pollution, check out our Action Hub where you’ll find campaigns to support and opportunities to learn more!
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