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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