Government is treating the symptom and not the cause of plastic pollution, says Green Alliance report

A new report from the think tank Green Alliance has said that while the Government is tackling plastic pollution by addressing individual uses of plastic, its approach fails to deal with the root of the problem, and is storing up new environmental issues for the future.

The report points out that the UK’s throwaway habit is not being addressed by Government strategy on resources and waste, and the current approach to preventing marine plastic pollution is not only unlikely to deliver significant improvement, it risks detracting from the wider need to improve the sustainability of resources used and cut waste across the country.

For example, the UK’s ban on microbeads in wash-off cosmetics was introduced in June 2018 and described by the Government as “world leading”, but the ban ignores 90 per cent of the intentionally added microplastics that still pollute the environment.

Similarly, the new ban on plastic straws, stirrers, and cotton buds has pushed companies to substitute plastic for other materials in these products, without reducing their single-use nature, which will continue to cause unnecessary environmental problems.

The new Environment Bill continues this trend, introducing powers to implement charges for single-use items plastic items along the lines of the 5p carrier bag charge.

As it stands, charges for single-use items made from other materials will not be possible.

The new analysis explains why a plastic-only approach is not working, and says that the whole system of resource use and management needs a fundamental rethink to prevent environmental harm.

Major issues with the current system include health risks of persistent harmful chemicals in food packaging, as chemicals such a phthalates and BPA that are usually associated with plastic are also found in metal, paper, and card packaging, and that poor management of compostable plastics can lead to unintended consequences such as cross-material contamination.

The report sets out how to solve the problems faced, and highlights that the Government should widen its policy focus to tackle all resources and all environmental impacts in a more systemic approach.

Colin Church, Chief Executive of The Institute of Materials, Minerals, and Mining and Chair of the Circular Economy Task Force, said: “The way we consume and waste resources in the UK is unsustainable, and it’s not just plastic that has an impact.”

“What is needed now is an approach that leads the UK to a truly circular economy where all materials are properly valued and any problems they cause are minimised as much as possible.”

Libby Peake, Head of Resource Policy at Green Alliance, said: “Removing one material from a dysfunctional cycle still leaves us with a dysfunctional system.”

“Plastic pollution is a particularly visible sign that we don’t properly value the resources we use and shows that environmental harm is hardwired into the throwaway culture.”

“The Government has to get to the root of the problem to change this, rather than only tackling high-profile symptoms in a piecemeal way.”