The Times - UK (2020-10-15)

the times | Thursday October 15 2020 1GM 19

News

member states have agreed to consider

the idea of a new global treaty on plastic

and it is due to be debated next year at

the UN environment assembly.

Germany, the Philippines and Viet-

nam are among the countries that have

called for such a treaty but WWF says

Britain, the United States, Japan, Aus-

tralia and Canada are notable excep-

tions which have yet to support it.

The report says the treaty could in-

clude limitations on certain single-use

products, such as cutlery and straws,

and set targets with deadlines for maxi-

mum rates of discharge into the oceans

or minimum rates of plastic recycling.

It notes that 115 countries have

adopted regulations on single-use

plastic and another 22 plan to do so by

Passion for plastic creates

a tonne for every person

More than a tonne of plastic has been

produced since 1950 for every person

alive today and an international treaty

is urgently needed to cut the amount

polluting the ocean, a report by Dame

Ellen MacArthur’s foundation says.

Three quarters of the 8.3 billion

tonnes produced globally in the past 70

years has become waste and a third of

that has been “mismanaged”, including

being dumped or dropped as litter, it

adds. More than 150 million tonnes of

plastic has already entered the oceans

and another 11 million tonnes ends up

there each year, with almost 1,

marine species known to be contami-

nated by the waste.

Without urgent action, the global

volume of plastic entering the oceans

could treble over the next 20 years, the

report says. The Ellen MacArthur

Foundation and WWF, the environ-

mental charities that produced the

report, have gathered support from

29 large businesses for an international

treaty to reduce plastic pollution. They

include some of the biggest producers

of plastic packaging, including Coca-

Cola, PepsiCo, Mars, Nestlé, Tesco and

Unilever.

The report says the success of the

1987 Montreal protocol, which is help-

ing protect the ozone layer from

substances that deplete it, could be

replicated for plastic. Two thirds of UN

the end of next year, meaning 86 per

cent of the world’s population will be

covered by some type of rule.

However, most of these countries

have limited their action to restricting

plastic bags. In beach clean-ups, single-

use plastic bags account for only 7 per

cent of items found, the report says.

Dame Ellen, the sailor who launched

the foundation after breaking the

record in 2005 for the fastest solo cir-

cumnavigation of the world, said the

voluntary commitments made by hun-

dreds of companies on reducing plastic

waste were not enough and a binding

agreement was needed.

Nusa Urbancic, of the Changing

Markets Foundation, a campaign

group, said calls for a global treaty were

“just another delaying tactic by the

plastic industry”. She added: “The plas-

tic pollution crisis is so serious that we

need proven legislative solutions, like

deposit systems and reuse targets.”

The Department for Environment,

Food and Rural Affairs did not respond

directly when asked if the government

supported an international treaty on

plastic but said the UK was at the fore-

front of tackling the issue.

6 Morrisons, Waitrose and John Lewis

have removed glitter, typically made

from aluminium bonded to plastic,

from their own-brand Christmas cards,

wrapping paper and crackers to reduce

pollution. Marks & Spencer made a

similar announcement last year.

Ben Webster Environment Editor

Man-made problem

Cumulative global plastic production

Metric tonnes

Source: WWF

10

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

1950 60 70 80 90 00 10 20

More than 1 tonne

of plastic produced

for every person

Bn

Helping hand The Duchess of Cambridge tours a research laboratory at Imperial

College London to learn about the work of the miscarriage charity Tommy’s

KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH/AP