Action on plastic must be drastic

Rarely has a global environmental issue aroused public and political concern more rapidly than plastic pollution of the oceans. Images of littered beaches on once idyllic islands — and sea creatures entangled in lethal debris or poisoned by plastic pieces mistaken for morsels of food — are forcing governments and companies into overdue action to reduce the estimated 8-million tonnes of waste plastic that find their way into the oceans every year.

So too is alarm about the almost invisible threat of tiny microplastic particles and fibres, resulting mainly from the disintegration of larger items, which may pose a toxic time bomb for marine life and eventually humans too.

This drive for action must be intensified. The threat to our oceans is too great to release the political pressure even if plastic pollution falls out of the news. Unfortunately it will not be practical for the foreseeable future to remove more than a small fraction of the trillions of plastic pieces in all shapes and sizes that are already fouling the oceans. Policy makers should focus efforts on rapidly reducing the flow of fresh material into the ocean, by increasing recycling and restricting nonessential uses of plastics.

This will require a huge change in behaviour by consumers, pushed by regulations such as mandatory deposits on plastic bottles, charges for plastic bags and coffee cups, and bans on products such as plastic straws and cotton buds. The manufacturing and retail sectors must go farther and faster than most have announced so far to phase out unnecessary plastic packaging.

These actions must take place on a global scale, since most plastic reaches the sea from the developing world. That may mean transferring money and technology to help poorer countries handle the huge recycling job.

Fortunately, plastic pollution, unlike climate change, is an environmental cause without a vociferous band of sceptics denying the scientific consensus that action is needed urgently. London, April 21