UK must lead the global fight against the threat of single-use plastics

As we emerge from the pandemic, we must pick up where we left off in our plans to effect real change

Single-use plastics are one of the greatest threats to our natural environment, both here at home and around the globe – damaging ecosystems, harming wildlife and polluting our landscapes.

In recent months our attention and efforts have been rightly focused on tackling the coronavirus, and we know this public health emergency has meant an unavoidable reliance on single-use plastics such as the personal protective equipment that is so essential for public health.

We are actively thinking across the Government and NHS whether we can safely reuse PPE and are aware of other countries who have begun looking at the potential to decontaminate and reuse it. And as we emerge from the pandemic, we must pick up from where we left off – driving forward with our ambitious plans to lead the global fight on unnecessary single-use plastics and each playing our part to make real change.

During the height of lockdown, we saw how nature and the environment thrived, becoming more vibrant and beautiful as animals and habitats adapted to a quieter and less polluted world.

But a gradual return to normal life has made starkly clear how we can be a hindrance to our planet.

We’ve all seen the images of our beaches and countryside strewn with litter, and the smouldering ruins of woodlands left victim to discarded barbecues.

Now, more than ever, we must take bold action to protect our environment and lead global efforts for a green recovery.

Our landmark Environment Bill will soon return to Parliament, and through this world-leading legislation we will transform our environment and ensure protections above and beyond those in the EU, as well as paving the way for new innovative schemes that slash our plastic waste.

From October, we will implement our landmark ban on plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds, and from 2022 will introduce a tax on plastic packaging to penalise companies if they produce or import packaging which does not contain at least 30 per cent recycled content.

Consumers in the UK go through an estimated 14 billion plastic drinks bottles in a year, and we’ve committed to introducing a deposit return scheme to reward consumers for returning their single-use plastic bottles to their local shops.

We will also transform the waste system to move us closer to a circular economy where products are built to last, be recycled or repaired.

Through new extended producer responsibility schemes, we will also make sure industries pay higher fees if their products or packaging are harder to reuse or recycle.

This groundbreaking action builds on the huge progress we have already made. Plastic bag sales in our major supermarkets have fallen by 90 per cent since we introduced a 5p charge, with 15 billion bags removed from circulation.

Our ban on microbeads in wash-off cosmetic products is also one of the strongest in the world, stopping billions of plastic particles from entering our oceans and threatening marine wildlife.

As a leading member of the Commonwealth Clean Ocean Alliance, we are championing strong action to protect our marine environments and ensure countries around the world tackle this pressing issue too.

From reducing the amount of plastic consumed here in the UK, to stemming the tide of plastic pollution in our oceans – we must ensure that our hard-won progress is not undone.