Presenter calls for UK to ban single-use plastics

TV presenter Liz Bonnin has called for a ban on single-use plastics in the UK and accused industries and politicians of not doing enough to tackle plastic pollution.

In an interview with Radio Times ahead of her new documentary, Drowning In Plastic, Bonnin said: “When it comes to all single-use products, I just think if we can live without them, we should live without them. There is no kind of middle ground any more. So can we live without plastic bottles? Yes, we can.”

Drowning In Plastic comes a year after Sir David Attenborough’s Blue Planet II, and will investigate the effect plastic material is having on marine animals.

The documentary will look at the dangers and struggles of wildlife in the ocean and the extent of the problem of our polluted seas.

Citing Costa Rica’s ban on all single-use plastic by 2021, wildlife biologist Bonnin said the UK’s slower action on plastic pollution was not good enough.

She told Radio Times: “I have to ask, why isn’t the UK doing that?

“Some of our plastic is absolutely a valuable part of our society. The question there is, do we make up that plastic with less toxic chemicals?

“Also, can we make that plastic realistically recyclable? 40% of the plastic that’s prevalent in our society is singleuse stuff that we can absolutely live without.

“If Costa Rica can do it, why can’t we do it immediately?”