Plastic nightmare will only get worse warns Prince Charles
Prince charles yesterday warned of a plastic pollution ‘nightmare’ that is likely to get worse.
He condemned the contamination of the oceans with waste that can be eaten by birds, fish and other sealife.
The heir to the throne urged businesses, governments and individuals to work together to end their reliance on plastic.
He spoke out at a summit at the British Academy in London which drew together food industry leaders, including coca-cola, Pepsico, Tesco and Marks & Spencer, and green campaigners.
Organisations supported by the prince have been working on initiatives to reduce the use of plastic packaging as well as improve collection of plastic waste and recycling.
it emerged at the meeting that the waste advisory group WrAP is set to unveil a partnership with brands and supermarkets to make a drastic reduction in the use of plastic packaging.
The prince praised the media for taking concern about plastic waste and pollution to the top of the agenda and firing a shopper revolution. The Mail has been campaigning on the issue for ten years.
The meeting heard that some shoppers were taking direct action against plastic by removing packaging from products in stores before they get to the till. charles told the gathering of industry and experts: ‘The nightmare result of eight million tons of plastic entering the ocean every year is set to get worse rather than better. We cannot, indeed must not, allow this situation to continue.’
David Attenborough and Theresa May will join forces today to prick the conscience of the world’s largest producer of throwaway plastics.
in a highly unusual move, the Prime Minister will hand over a private note from the veteran broadcaster when she meets china’s president today.
The note to Xi Jinping will accompany a gift from Mrs May of a copy of Sir David’s groundbreaking series Blue Planet ii, which highlighted the menace to the oceans from plastic.
Government sources declined to comment on the content of Sir David’s note, saying it was a ‘personal message’.
china has been the world’s largest manufacturer of plastic products for the past five years and accounts for about a quarter of global output. in December alone it churned out more than seven million tons.
Of the ten rivers blamed for carrying 90 per cent of the plastic in the world’s oceans, seven pass through china. A study by experts in Germany identified the Yangtze as the worst offender.