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Plastic bottles have become the poster child for plastic pollution .
see plastic straws ’ days numbered , as she said they are one of the most common plastic items found on beaches .
Now , she wants the whole of the UK to ban them , because “ the sea does not respect country borders .”
Interestingly , South Africa has latched onto this idea , resulting in many restaurants banning their use entirely .
In a report by the Environmental Audit Committee , another scourge , the plastic bottle , was described as ‘ almost a flagship species for the wider issues of marine plastic pollution ’. Basically , it is seen as the poster child for plastic pollution . In the UK alone , 13 billion plastic bottles are used annually , with 7.5 billion ending up in landfill , being incinerated , or making their way into the oceans , accounting for a third of all plastic pollution in the sea .
Germany is one of the countries that has introduced a deposit return scheme — a tried-and-tested , highly efficient way of keeping bottles out of the oceans . You put it into the appropriate in-store machine and get a receipt for the number of bottles returned . Win-win all round .
Presently being explored in the UK is water fountains as another way of tackling plastic bottle waste . The idea being that , the more fresh water available to the public , the less bottled water will be purchased . But this brings its own set of health issues to the fore and the obvious potential for abuse .
While this article has merely touched on the various pollutants that find their way to the seas , and in no way serves as a last word on this scourge , it will hopefully galvanise the readers to action . We are running out of time and action must be taken against polluting what we have left of this wonderful planet . u
Sources https :// www . globalcitizen . org / en / content / uk-tackling-plasticpollution-waste-plan / https :// blogs . ei . columbia . edu / 2011 / 01 / 26 / our-oceans-a-plastic-soup / https :// www . dailymaverick . co . za / opinionista / 2018-08-14-save-theplanet-choose-plastic-shopping-bags /
24 Water Sewage & Effluent September / October 2018