Dreaming of creating a plastic-free Oban

Sir,

I’m 67 years old. I’m not quite as old as plastic but almost all the plastic that has ever been made was made during my lifetime. And almost all of it still exists: every plastic teaspoon, piece of clingfilm or nylon shirt that I have ever used probably still exists. Why should I worry? What can I do?

We should all worry. Plastic has entered the water supply and the food chain. We don’t yet know what the consequences for human health will be but it’s unlikely to do us any good.

We see clearly now the damage plastics do to marine life and to the environment but are making and using more and more plastic every year. Only a very small proportion of plastic made ever gets recycled. In the UK alone, 16 million plastic bottles – which could be recycled – are put into the ordinary bins every day.

We can all make a difference. It won’t solve the problem of what has already been dumped but each one of us could help a little. We can use a re-usable water bottle and fill it at home from the tap or from a filter jug. In the UK, we don’t need to buy bottled water at all.

Each one of us can ask cafes, snack bars or chippies for fibre or paper cups, wooden stirrers or chip forks, as not every cafe, restaurant or bar in Oban has stopped using plastic.

Oban is the first many visitors see of the Highlands and islands and, after eating or drinking on the go, the visitor has to dispose of the containers, forks, stirrers that their food/drink was served in. I haven’t seen anywhere for visitors to put plastic or cardboard for recycling along any of the main streets so it all goes in the same bin and then to landfill or seagulls.

The government has given us a great opportunity by choosing to hold a marine plastic summit in Oban on June 18. By then, led by The Oban Times, we could have made commitment to try to get Oban recognised as having a plastic-free coastline, or we could just commit ourselves to reducing single-use plastics and pick up plastic when we see it on the street or on the beach. Either way, we’ll be demonstrating that we do care and that we can make a difference.

Phil Hamerton, Corran Esplanade, Oban.