Plastic waste in our seas up 150% in a year

‘These are worrying figures’

THE amount of rubbish in Britain’s seas has increased by more than 150 per cent in a year, a report shows.

Plastic items including bags and bottles accounted for nearly all the litter found last year.

The worrying figures will heap pressure on the Government to reduce the use of plastic which is blighting our seas and killing marine life.

MPs said the damning report highlighted the need for ministers to take urgent action to clean up coastal waters.

The Daily Mail has led the way on ending the plastic menace, calling for restrictions on bottles, bags, toxic microbeads and coffee cups.

Figures released yesterday by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) show a massive 158 per cent increase in marine litter last year on the year before.

This is an increase of 222 per cent on the 19924 figure, which is used to measure subsequent increases or decreases. All projections suggest the situation is likely to deteriorate further in future years, according to the paper.

Marine litter peaked in 2003 but it has ‘fallen considerably’ since, the England Natural Environment Indicators paper states.

However, the data from last year shows that the figure is rising again, with 358 items per square km, up from 141 on the previous year. Since 2009, it has remained under 400 items per square km. The figures also show that plastic, which is non-recyclable in many cases, makes up 77.9 per cent of marine litter.

Mary Creagh MP, chairman of the Environmental Audit Committee, called on Defra and the companies which are producing plastic to take action.

‘These are worrying figures and further evidence of a rising tide of plastic engulfing our seas, beaches and rivers,’ she said.

Liberal Democrat environment spokesman Tim Farron added: ‘This damning report shows the state of our natural environment is deteriorating at an alarming rate.

‘It is particularly worrying to see such a sharp rise in plastic litter polluting our seas. Unless we take action, in a few years Blue Planet will have to be renamed Plastic Planet.

‘The Government needs to get its act together and take urgent action to clean up our seas and countryside.’

The Mail has backed calls for a deposit scheme on plastic bottles and non-recyclable coffee cups to stop them polluting our land and seas.

This paper’s ‘Banish the Bag’ campaign, which led to a 5p charge for single-use plastic bags, has led to an 85 per cent drop in their use.

In a major victory for our ‘Ban The Beads’ campaign, last year ministers pledged to outlaw toxic microbeads which are poisoning our seas.

A Defra spokesman said: ‘Countries around the world need to take urgent action to stop plastic entering our oceans.

‘We are already making great strides but we know there is always more we can do and we are now exploring how we can reduce the impact of plastic bottles.’