Ending the Plastic Age @ Radio 4's Costing the Earth

Many say we must go beyond 'recycling':
Futures Forum: Plastic coffee cups: Costa promises recycling: Starbucks promises alternatives
Futures Forum: Plastic recycling and greenwashing
Futures Forum: "Our plastic pollution crisis is too big for recycling to fix"

And look at the whole 'design' of plastics:
Futures Forum: Two-thirds of plastic in packaging pots and trays is unrecyclable > "Manufacturers must scrap the 'smorgasboard' of plastics which are used in packaging for key foods so that councils can reduce waste sent to landfill and increase recycling." 

Which means science:
Futures Forum: Turning the Tide on Plastic > "It's an eco-nightmare and a tired, old technology: surely it’s not beyond the wit of science to give us a hi-tech green alternative." 

And innovation:
Futures Forum: Infinitely recyclable plastic > "As it stands, only 5 per cent of plastics that are manufactured are recycled. Of these recycled materials, they are mainly turned into low-value products that are not recycled again. The widespread implementation of new plastics that can be recycled again and again could therefore help keep vast amounts of plastic from ultimately ending up on landfill or polluting the environment." 

As discussed this evening on Radio 4's Costing the Earth:

Ending the Plastic Age

Costing the Earth

19 September 2018

How do we solve the plastic crisis? Tom Heap is joined by an expert panel to find fresh ways to cut down on plastic waste.

It's become the environmental crisis that's caught the imagination. Since Blue Planet 2 broadcast heart-rending images of albatross and turtles tangled in plastic waste enormous pressure has been exerted on government and retailers to reduce the flow of plastic into landfill and the oceans. But what's the best way to dispose of plastic? How do we reduce our consumption of such an incredibly versatile material? Are there future plastics that will degrade and disappear without a cost to the planet?

Lucy Siegle, BBC 'One Show' reporter and author of a new book, 'Turning the Tide on Plastic' joins Tom alongside Richard Walker, MD of Iceland supermarkets who has pledged to remove plastic packaging from own-label goods by 2023. Bath University's Janet Scott discusses plant-based alternatives to plastic and Dustin Benton of the Green Alliance explains how campaigners are keeping up the pressure on government to improve the treatment and recycling of waste.

Recorded at Countryfile Live at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire.

BBC Radio 4 - Costing the Earth, Ending the Plastic Age
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