Campaigners call for ban on ‘unrecyclable’ plastic sachets

SINGLE-USE plastic sachets should be banned, campaigners have said in a letter to The Daily Telegraph as they ask the Government to “close the loophole” on waste.

They argue that despite forthcoming bans on plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds, British people have become “slaves to the sachet”, and this is causing untold damage to the planet.

The single-use packs are used for ketchup, soy sauce and mustard; shampoo and moisturiser; towelettes and face wipes, washing powder and detergent, and milk.

Those who signed the letter include Richard Walker, Iceland Foods’ managing

‘Billions of sachets each year are destined for landfill, incineration or end up in our environment’

director, campaigner Ben Goldsmith, who is on the board of Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and Sian Sutherland, the chief executive of the charity A Plastic Planet.

The campaign has attracted crossparty political support from 27 Parliamentarians, including Conservative Sir Desmond Swayne and Lord Triesman, a Labour peer and former Football Association Chairman.

Carrie Symonds, plastics campaigner and the partner of the Prime Minister, has also thrown her weight behind the cause, tweeting supportively about it.

The letter reads: “Billions of plastic composite sachets each year are destined for landfill, incineration or, most likely, end up in our environment.

“They are the ultimate symbol of our grab and go, addicted-to-convenience lifestyle. Uncollectible, unrecyclable and valueless, they pollute our planet at an increasing rate.”

The campaigners pointed out that the Environment Bill gets its second reading in Parliament today – with no action announced on plastic sachets.

Single-use plastic straws and stirrers, and plastic-stemmed cotton buds are set to be banned in April, and most vendors have stopped using them in anticipation.

It is widely thought that the Budget will include a new tax on the production and import of plastic packaging with less than 30 per cent recycled content. Conservationists argue that sachets pose similar threats to the environment, polluting oceans and choking wildlife.

A report to be published today will also reveal that 855billion sachets are used each year globally. If they are not banned, the world will have gone through a trillion sachets by 2030.

Ms Sutherland said: “Our Earth is saturated with these unrecyclable, contaminated, valueless little packets. It’s time to close the legal loophole.”

It comes after The Daily Telegraph launched a Zero Waste campaign, calling on a reduction in single-use plastics and simpler ways to recycle.

A Defra spokesman said it is not covered in the Environment Bill because individual items would be listed in secondary legislation, adding: “We’re committed to tackling the plastic waste that blights our streets, rivers and oceans. We are making real progress. We know there is more to do to eliminate avoidable plastic waste, and this needs big brands and business – along with government and the public – to work together.”

sir – Globally some 855 billion sachets are thrown away every year. If you placed a year’s worth of sachets end to end, they would stretch 45 million miles – equivalent to 189 trips from Earth to the Moon.

We have become slaves to the sachet. Unless urgent action is taken, we are set to use one trillion of them by 2030. And almost all of these packets will be made of plastic.

Ketchup, soy sauce and mustard; shampoo and moisturiser; towelettes and face wipes; washing powder, detergent and even milk – all are sold in single-serve, single-use plastic sachets, billions of which each year go to landfill, are incinerated or end up in our environment.

They are the ultimate symbol of our grab-and-go, addicted-to-convenience lifestyle. Uncollectable, unrecyclable and valueless, they pollute our planet at an increasing rate.

Solutions are available today, using systems and materials that nature can easily handle. The time for excuses has long gone. The campaign group A Plastic Planet believes it’s time to call a halt to the lunacy that is the plastic sachet.

We agree. That’s why we’re calling today for global business leaders and politicians to work together urgently to end the curse of the plastic sachet for good.

Princess Marie-esméralda of Belgium

Peter Thomson

United Nations Secretary-general’s Special Envoy for the Ocean Richard Walker

Managing Director, Iceland Foods Sir Desmond Swayne MP (Con) and 42 others; see telegraph.co.uk