Positive solutions to our plastic consumption problem
Fed up with these headlines?
“Beach cleaners find pre-decimalisation plastic bag”
“Film lifts lid on Great Pacific Garbage Patch ”
“How your beauty regimen could be harming the planet”
"Hermit crabs are ‘wearing’ our plastic rubbish”
“Disposable vapes found on riverbed “
These are just a few of the millions of headlines easily found when googling anything to do with plastic waste where 7.25 m tonnes of plastic ends up in the ocean every year (1) and only 9% of plastic ever produced is recycled (2).
The facts are out there and getting worse. Despite raised awareness, endless campaigns and political intervention the amount of plastic produced and consequently wasted is increasing exponentially. So - for the ‘annual’ Plastic Free July blog I thought I would take a more positive approach.
Rather than write another rather gloomy blog about how we are drowning in plastic, this time I thought that a ‘good news’ blog about enterprises involved in reducing or recycling our plastic - especially UK based ones would help inspire.
There is a groundswell of initiatives throughout the UK attempting to solve our plastic problem.
1) In Bath they have the UK’s first ever facility to recycle plastic waste from research labs - a huge issue as most labs utilise single use plastic.
Meanwhile innovative and eco-friendly materials are being produced that help answer the question 'what can be used instead of plastic?’
2) Mycelium (mushroom root material), seaweed, bamboo, bagasse (sugarcane by-product), along with fish waste & algae can now all be converted into bio- degradable plastic type materials which can be adopted in place of plastic - known as bio-plastics this is a huge leap forward and will reduce in cost with increased use. There is a caveat here, some bioplastics are neither biodegradable nor compostable and their residues generate the same pollution problems as those derived from petroleum because they also produce micro and nano plastics during their decomposition(3). Some decompose only under industrial conditions and some contaminate regular plastic recycling waste. So while this is an upbeat blog - there is still more work to be done with bio-plastics before they are all truly environmentally friendly.
3) Supermarkets are playing their part, many major supermarkets such as Boots and Aldi’s have already stopped selling wet wipes containing plastic. Greenpeace have introduced a Supermarket League Table upping the pressure on all supermarkets to do their bit.
4) In 2025 Wales will charge a small deposit on single use drinks containers, claimed back on returning the bottle or can. Wales is working with England and Northern Ireland to set up a joint scheme, meaning you can buy a drink in Barry and return it in Bristol or Belfast.
5) Meanwhile UK Research and Innovation has awarded £3.2 million in funding to 17 ground-breaking innovation projects in the field of reducing plastic pollution . My favourite is Cauli Ltd who are facilitating the use of reusable cups which can be returned at a smart return kiosk. Just think of all those millions of teas and coffees bought each day. I only hope they have included a reusable lid instead of the plastic ones routinely given.
5) Other initiatives include plastic eating bacteria. By incorporating spores, the plastic, when exposed to nutrients in compost starts to be eaten by the said spores . Care must be taken here though as it is a few years away to becoming a reality and critics feel it could lead the general public into a false sense of security.
The sticking point as always is cost. Buying power is an excellent form of pressure, if everyone stops purchasing something then the market forces the manufacturer into finding alternatives. Unfortunately, this is a luxury choice that many cannot afford, and therein lies the catch, while plastic is still cheap and unregulated it will still be used.
But legislation is changing; in the UK, single use plastics have been banned since 1.10.2023 helping shift the balance towards reusables or bio-plastics.
‘What difference does my vote make say one million people’
Collectively we are huge and voting does make a difference.
A recent YouGov survey showed that the public ranked plastic pollution as one of the top 3 threats to society along with war and climate change, while environmental issues concerning plastic rank lower for Members of Parliament .
Green Peace held the ‘big plastic count' in March this year in an attempt to confront ministers with the true problem, the government has still to put in place legally binding plastic reduction targets and continued pressure from such pressure groups as Green Peace, Friends of the Earth and Surfers against Sewage along with the thousands of smaller pressure groups throughout the UK all help.
In other areas pressure groups such as Client Earth are suing Coca Cola, Nestle and Danone over greenwashing their plastic bottles by claiming that they are used from 100% recycled products.
While we must be cognisant of the fact that we are still increasing our plastic use, the mood in the UK is changing. Pressure groups and individual action is helping change legislation and supermarket activity.
Remaining positive and acting - however small, does work.
If you wish to do something positive then sign up to a pressure group who will do the work for you in pushing our government into action. Plastic free July isn’t just for July.
The message is getting out there and slowly change is being made, let’s be part of the plastic pollution solution.
- https://www.clientearth.org/what-we-do/
- https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/10/12/1081129/plastic-recycling-climate-change-microplastics/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10032476/#:~:text=Some%20bioplastics%20are%20neither%20biodegradable,nano%20plastics%20during%20their%20decomposition.