‘The EU wants to fight the waste problem, but behind the scenes, the plastic lobby is fighting for its interests – for example, against bans on single-use plastic. It’s up to us to tip the balance.’ [WeMove.EU]
photo by Chris Jordan
This is a petition to the EU commission to reduce the production and use of plastic. Over the next month or so the commission is reviewing it’s plastic strategy, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that plastic is clogging up our seas. With one click you could sign a petition to make the EU take notice of us. Plastic is getting into our rivers and seas at an alarming rate and is tipping the eco balance of the waters, eventually coming back into our food chain.
By 2050, our oceans will have more plastic trash than fish.
In 2015 Rame Peninsula Beach Care did a call out and these were the items they felt were most relevant – they still are so we need to keep talking about it.
1) The need for plastics packaging producers to accept greater responsibility for their disposable products. We need a bottle deposit scheme for plastic bottles. Systems like this have reduced plastic bottle litter by up to 90% in countries where they are in place. We currently discard 15 million plastic bottles in the UK each day, of which over half are landfilled or littered.
2) A small surcharge on disposable plastic packaging. A 1p tax on bottles alone could raise £1 million a week. This could be spent (for example) on (a) a major nationwide online and media awareness campaign, (b) environmental warning labels on disposable plastic packaging and (c) a redesign of disposable plastic packaging to ensure it is 100% recycling.
3) An extension of the forthcoming charge on plastic shopping bags to all businesses rather than just stores with over 250 employees, as in the other countries of the UK.
4) Providing better disposal and recycling facilities for fishermen,
5) Banning all plastic micro-beads in cosmetics and taking stronger action on plastic sewage-related debris
6) Classifying balloon releases as littering, and therefore a criminal offence.’
Here’s the petition https://act.wemove.eu/campaigns/plastics-strategy-INT-EN
seafieldview 
That’s one heck of a terrifying prediction but totally believable! We just signed up for the annual coastal cleanup on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. My goal in participating is to let others know picking up can be done every day by those of us who have the time. Greg and I try to walk the beaches every morning but find that after collecting 4-5 bags of plastic bottles and other trash, we hardly have the time for the full enjoyment of the sea. I’m with you on this one – all the way!
keep up your good work Jody – it sometimes feels like the small act of cleaning up isn’t working in the long term but we have to continue to do what we can and continue to spread the word. I envy your daily walks.