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Monday 17 December 2018

Plastic pollution > Let's keep up the pressure > 58% of all plastic bottles found on British beaches and rivers were 750ml or larger and would be left out of the bottle recycling scheme if a size limit is added

Over the autumn, Sidmouth did its bit for the Surfers Against Sewage's Autumn Beach & River Clean week:
Futures Forum: Sidmouth Plastic Warriors > beach clean tomorrow Saturday 26th October > and the Terracycle programme to recycle cigarette buts

But there's a lot of pressure coming from the plastics industry:
Futures Forum: The plastics industry fights back

There needs to be some counter pressure:


Let's keep up the pressure.
Back in October, we asked you to become citizen scientists and record all of the different sizes of drinks containers you were finding as part of the Autumn Beach & River Clean.
You went out in your thousands and made this survey the largest of its kind, with 27,696 single-use drinks containers recorded at 487 UK beaches and rivers.

Why did we ask you to do that?

This year, the UK Government announced that a drink bottle Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) would come into place, but questions are being raised about the size of bottles to be included.
The British Retail Consortium says only plastic bottles up to a certain size should be part of the scheme.

Why does it matter?

We found that 58% of all plastic bottles found on British beaches and rivers were 750ml or larger and would be left out of the bottle recycling scheme if a size limit is added.
Your incredible research reveals the vital need to include ALL plastic bottle sizes or the new system will end up watered down and fail to tackle plastic pollution.
 
 

What happens next?

We'll be delivering this new data to Defra, starting with a call with Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey MP next week. 
We'll keep you updated throughout the process.
Your actions are making a huge difference, from the coastline to the Commons. We can't thank you enough.

What can you do to help?

We need to raise as much awareness about this as possible. You can help by sharing this email on Twitter and Facebook, or forwarding it to a friend.
 
 

Surfers Against Sewage | Environmental charity tackling plastic pollution
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