Environmental Protection (Plastic Straws, Cotton Buds and Stirrers) (England) Regulations 2020

Lord McNicol of West Kilbride Excerpts

Friday 10th July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord McNicol of West Kilbride (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, plastic pollution poses immense risks to the environment and the ecosystem. Incredibly, only 9% of plastics are recycled. With the UK experiencing the highest single-use plastic consumption in Europe, these regulations take an encouraging step—but, as many others have said, they fail to go far enough.

Small single-use plastics make up a fraction of global plastic waste. Some 25 million tonnes of plastic enter our oceans annually, which is the equivalent of pouring a garbage truck of plastic into the ocean every minute. It is estimated that small, single-use plastic makes up only 5 tonnes of those 25 million tonnes. Without a shift in policy on other forms of plastic waste, the crisis will grow exponentially, so I would ask the Minister why we are legislating only on small, single-use plastic, which makes up such a tiny proportion of plastic waste.