Inland Waterways: Pollution

(asked on 19th January 2021) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether measuring plastic levels in waterways is a priority of his Department.


Answered by
Rebecca Pow Portrait
Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This question was answered on 27th January 2021

Addressing plastic pollution in our waterways is a priority for Defra. In order to measure plastic levels accurately, it is important to use consistent sampling, collection and assessment methodologies for measuring plastics in various environmental media (sediments, water column or biota). Defra is working with the Environment Agency, academia and water companies, to develop such methodologies to enable future monitoring of plastics in wastewater, sludge and the water environment.

Defra is also working with the relevant committees at the British Standards Institute (BSI) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to progress the development of agreed standards for sampling and analytical methodologies for plastics in the aquatic environment.

Reticulating Splines