Consumers urged to go plastic-free today
World Environment Day would see a mass rejection of products that pose a threat to the environment
Millions of consumers are being urged to boycott food and drink in plastic packaging for 24 hours today, as the war against pollution inspired by BBC documentary Blue Planet II gathers momentum. Each year, more than 300million tons of plastic are produced globally, and 10 per cent will end up in the sea. It is estimated that there is now a 1:2 ratio of plastic to plankton and, left unchecked, plastic – which marine animals cannot digest – will outweigh fish by 2050.
MILLIONS of consumers are being urged to boycott food and drink in plastic packaging for 24 hours today, as the war against pollution inspired by BBC documentary Blue Planet II gathers momentum.
Each year, more than 300 million tons of plastic are produced globally, and 10 per cent will end up in the sea.
It is estimated that there is now a 1:2 ratio of plastic to plankton and, left unchecked, plastic will outweigh fish by 2050.
Marine animals cannot digest plastic and it has been shown that even humans who eat seafood ingest 11,000 pieces of microplastic each year.
Most plastics are not biodegradable and not all plastics can be recycled.
In what is billed as a global first, A Plastic Planet, a campaign group supported by organisations in Europe, Asia and the Americas such as Timeout, Spotify and Sky Ocean Rescue, is hoping to inspire 250 million people around the world to stop using plasticpackaged products to mark World Environment Day today.
Campaigners said they also hoped international companies would make pledges to cut their plastic footprint.
A Plastic Planet has demanded plastic-free aisles in supermarkets, an idea supported by Theresa May, the Prime Minister. The campaign group also pioneered the Plastic Free Trust Mark, a label to show shoppers there is no hidden plastic in their food. Iceland is the first British retailer to adopt the mark for its own brand products and it is hoped others will follow suit.
The One Plastic Free Day event is backed by celebrities such as Ben Fogle, the TV adventurer. Customers are being encouraged to share photos of the products they forego on social media, using the hashtag #passonplastic.
Sian Sutherland, co-founder of A Plastic Planet, said: “For years, we were blissfully unaware of the terrible damage done by throwaway packaging to our oceans, our soil and the health of future generations. Now we know the truth.”
In April, the Government announced it could ban single-use plastic products such as straws, as public support for action grew after Blue Planet II highlighted the scale of plastic pollution with heartbreaking images of suffering marine animals.
In May, the European Commission put forward a separate bill to do the same across all of the remaining 27 EU member countries after Brexit, and challenged Michael Gove, the Environment Secretary, to see whether Britain or Brussels would get the ban on the books first in what was dubbed “straw wars”.
Yesterday, another plastic row blew up in Brussels, concerning balloons and balloon sticks. The European Commission has vowed that the EU will not ban balloons but it will outlaw plastic balloon sticks.
The European Balloon and Party Council, which represents the key players in the balloon and party industry, disputes the commission’s “misleading claims” such as saying that balloons and balloon sticks were among the “10 most common plastic objects found on European beaches”.
‘For years, we were blissfully unaware of the terrible damage done by packaging’