I’ve got an eco ‘girl crush’ – and it’s not Greta

Guess what? I’ve discovered the solution to plastic pollution. And it doesn’t involve Extinction Rebellion peeing-off commuters by train-surfing in the rush hour.

The answer lies in – wait for it, wait for it – capitalism. You heard, every last crustie one of you.

I’m being facetious here; climate change is a different, if intimately related crisis. But let’s concentrate on what we can do right this minute.

This week, I came across a new TED talk that blew my mind, an interview with Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest, a humungously wealthy Australian entrepreneur and philanthropist who is now, officially, “my girl crush”.

He loves money. He loves the planet. And his proposal is nothing short of an environmental revolution that will not only clean up the plastic mess, but lift developing nations out of poverty.

At present, it is cheaper to make new plastic from fossil fuels than to recycle and reuse. If a modest tax were imposed on new plastic, to make it more expensive, then manufacturers would buy recycled plastic instead.

According to Mr Forrest, the will is very much there among the world’s biggest companies. But they are driven by profit. If recycled plastic is cheaper, there is no longer any conflict of interest. Plastic waste becomes a saleable commodity and the nations most affected by plastic detritus will possess a precious resource.

In much the same way as scrap metal is no longer left lying around, plastic will be regarded as treasure, not trash, in impoverished countries, where new recycling facilities would open to process it, creating jobs. The virtue tax on “virgin” plastic would go to a recycling transition fund.

“Twiggy” has pledged to contribute a million US dollars every week for three years to get it off the ground. Can you see why I’m a fangirl?

But before anything can happen, there needs to be a groundswell of global public support. You – literally, you – can make a difference by logging on to noplasticwaste.org and adding your name. I very much hope you will.