Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of potential human health hazards posed by rising levels of plastic in the oceans.

The impact of plastic pollution on human health was assessed in a recent report by the Government Science Office titled “Future of the Seas: Plastic Pollution”. This found that the current evidence on the effect of microplastic pollution on human health does not indicate that consumption of fish and shellfish is harmful to human health. It also acknowledged that more work is needed to fully understand the impact of microplastics and macroplastics on the marine environment and potential links to human health.