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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the number of tonnes of plastic waste in British territorial waters.

Plastic pollution is one of the biggest challenges facing the marine environment today. It’s estimated that between 4.8 and 12.7 million tonnes enter the global ocean each year and, if action is not taken, scientific evidence estimates that the total plastic in the ocean is set to treble by 2025 compared to 2015 levels. Marine plastic litter can move with ocean currents, which makes it difficult to calculate how much is situated in British territorial waters at any given point in time.

This is why we collaborate closely with our neighbouring countries through the OSPAR Convention to reduce the flow of waste into the North-east Atlantic. We are delivering on our commitments in the Marine Litter Regional Action Plan and leading on efforts to tackle the issue of abandoned, lost and otherwise discarded fishing gear.

Prevention of waste entering the marine environment is our current priority. The Resources and Waste Strategy for England, published in December 2018, sets out our plans to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste, working towards our 25 Year Environment Plan target to reduce all types of marine plastic pollution.

Marine plastic pollution is a global issue that requires global effort and solutions. The UK launched the Commonwealth Clean Ocean Alliance alongside Vanuatu in 2018. Through this alliance, a growing group of 31 Commonwealth member states (over half of the Commonwealth) have pledged action on reducing plastic pollution of the ocean.