Tide turns! 50% drop in plastic bags pulled from sea after 5p levy

THE number of plastic bags caught in fishing nets off the coast of Britain has fallen dramatically since the 5p charge was introduced, a study has found.

Scientists found the number of trawls dredging up bags had more than halved from 2010 – five years before the levy began – to last year.

And they said the campaign led by the Daily Mail to bring in the 5p charge had a significant effect on plastic in our seas.

However the research, which looked at rubbish caught in nets as far back as 1992, found the overall amount of plastic litter had stayed the same – with an increase in other items as the number of bags fell. It came as the National Trust vowed to phase out single-use plastics in its 343 cafes and tea rooms by 2022.

Marine scientist Thomas Maes, of the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, said the plastic bag charge showed that ‘if we all take positive measures, we can get positive results’.

He praised work by the Mail – which has led the way with the Turn The Tide On Plastic campaign – to highlight the problem, adding: ‘It is encouraging to see that efforts by all of society, whether the public, industry, [nongovernmental organisations] or government to reduce plastic bags are having an effect.

‘We observed sharp declines in the percentage of plastic bags as captured by fishing nets trawling the sea floor around the UK compared to 2010 and this research suggests that by working together we can reduce, reuse and recycle to tackle the marine litter problem.’ The scientists found the number of trawls at least 12 miles off the British coast that brought at least one plastic bag fell from 43 per cent in 2010 to 16 per cent last year.

For trawls within 12 miles, the numbers fell from 53 per cent to 21 per cent.

And in the Celtic sea – the area bordering the Bristol channel, Wales, Cornwall and Devon – plastic bags were dredged in 21 per cent of trawls last year, down from 65 per cent in 2010. Large pieces of plastic in the sea – such as bags – are a threat to marine life including dolphins that can choke on the bags or become entangled in them.

Plastic covering the seabed can block sunlight – harming plants such as seagrass.

And big pieces of plastic break down into microplastics that can harm fish and marine creatures that eat them – which can then be eaten by humans. The study found that, over the 25-year period, 63 per cent of the 2,461 trawls contained at least one plastic litter item.

Julian Kirby, from Friends of the Earth, said: ‘It’s great that the bag levy appears to have cut plastic bags in our seas, but much tougher action is needed if we’re to turn the tide on the huge plastic pollution crisis – including micro-plastics – swamping our marine environment.’

AS signatures on our passports petition top a magnificent 310,000 after just 11 days, this paper has been profoundly impressed by readers’ comments on the baffling decision to award the printing contract to Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto.

Many list sound commercial and security reasons for entrusting the work to Britain’s De La Rue – reinforced by growing doubts over Gemalto’s trustworthiness, with evidence of blunders in Estonia.

More still have described movingly, with quiet pride, just how much the British passport means to them as the ultimate symbol of our national identity.

These are the voices of the often silent majority in our country. As we deliver our petition to Number Ten today, they must be given the hearing they deserve. IN a dramatic success for the Mail’s internationally- praised campaign against plastic pollutants, marine scientists have recorded a sharp fall in the number of plastic bags caught in fishing nets in British waters. Thus, the 5p charge we championed for single-use supermarket bags – which has cut usage by 85 per cent – is already producing results where they matter most. There is much, much more to be done to protect marine life from toxic and unnecessary plastic waste. But with our readers’ stalwart support, we have proved that where there’s a will, there’s a way.

ON the day after the number of lethal shootings and stabbings in London this year climbed to more than 50, the Mail has a question: Where is Mayor Sadiq Khan? When there are photo-opportunities to be seized on his travels, from India to Texas, he is barely off our screens. With gangland anarchy gripping the capital, does he really think this is a good time to go missing?