UK must lead world to save oceans from plastic peril, say MPs
BRITAIN must lead world efforts to save the oceans amid a dramatic increase in plastic pollution, MPs said yesterday.
They say plastic waste in seas will treble in the next 10 years and the Government’s “out of sight, out of mind” treatment puts marine resources at great risk.
About eight million tons of year enter the world’s seas.
After breaking down it can be eaten by creatures throughout the food chain, from plankton to whales.
Yet no one knows the long-term health effects “because we haven’t looked hard enough”, said the House of Commons’ environmental audit committee, quoting the Government’s chief scientific adviser.
The committee urged the UK to push for an international seas accord similar to the 2015 Paris climate change deal to protect the seas.
Its chairwoman Mary Creagh said: “We have to stop treating our seas as a sewer.
“Plastics, chemicals, and sewage are choking our oceans, polluting our water and harming every ocean species from plankton to polar bears.
“Supporting Indonesia and Malaysia to reduce plastic while simultaneously exporting our contaminated plastics to them shows the lack of a joined-up approach at the heart of the Government’s strategy.
“The ‘out of sight, out of mind’ attitude on the seas must change. We are calling plastic a on the Government to push for the creation of a legally-binding Paris Agreement for the Sea to protect the oceans.”
The committee also called for bringing forward the 2042 target date for eliminating all avoidable plastic waste and banning plastic packaging that is difficult or impossible to recycle.
The MPs also urged further green measures to fight climate change and reduce reliance on fossil fuels, which would in turn slow the acidification of the oceans.
They said legally-binding water quality targets were needed to reduce chemical pollutants from land.
The Daily Express revealed the global scale of plastic pollution last year by visiting the High Arctic and finding waste carried by ocean currents to the beaches of Norway’s Svalbard. One study says that by weight, there will be more plastic than fish in the sea by 2050.
Will McCallum, head of oceans at Greenpeace UK, said: “The environmental audit committee has produced truly groundbreaking recommendations for sustainable seas and we urge the Government to act without delay.”
A Government spokesman said: “We know there is more to do and we will soon publish an International Ocean Strategy to drive global action.”