Education Secretary calls on schools to eliminate single-use plastics by 2022

A GOVERNMENT Minister has today urged schools across the country to stop using single-use plastics such as straws, bottles and food packaging by 2022.

Education Secretary Damian Hinds says senior school leaders need to start a conversation with pupils about the effect discarded plastics have on the environment and wildlife. Mr Hinds is urging schools across the country to follow the lead of Georgeham Primary School in Devon, the first school in the UK to achieve single use plastic-free status.

He said: “On my first school visit as Education Secretary almost a year ago, the very first question I was asked by a pupil was what we can do to limit the damage of plastic on the environment.

“Reducing our use of plastic clearly is an important and timely issue which as captured the interest and the imagination of everyone in society.

“Plastic can harm our precious environment and be lethal to wildlife. The leadership shown by schools like Georgeham Primary in going single use plastic free is an impressive example for us all – and I want work to support every school in the country following their lead by 2022.

“It’s not always easy but we all have a role to play in driving out avoidable plastic waste, and with more schools joining others and leading by example, we can help to leave our planet in a better state than we found it.”

The announcement is the latest attempt to eliminate singleuse plastics by authorities in the UK and abroad.

Earlier this month, the European Parliament voted for a complete ban on a range of single-use plastics across the union in a bid to stop pollution of the oceans.

The Government’s 25-year Environment Plan launched in January pledges the elimination of avoidable plastic waste by 2042.