10 signatures reached
To: The RT Hon Michael Gove MP
Introduce a plastic usage charge to all companies/retailers.
Introduce a tax/charge for supermarkets/companies/retailers relative to the amount of plastic packaging they use or sell.
Why is this important?
More than 8 million tonnes of plastic are dumped into our oceans every year. Packaging is the largest end use market segment accounting for just over 40% of total plastic usage. There has been a plastic bag charge introduced for consumers to encourage us to use less plastic bags. But who is encouraging the supermarkets/companies/retailers to use less plastic? “Not only are plastics pervasive in our society in terms of daily use, but they are pervasive in the environment,” said Sherri Mason, a professor at the State University of New York at Fredonia, who led the latest research into plastic contamination in salt. Plastics are “ubiquitous, in the air, water, the seafood we eat, the beer we drink, the salt we use – plastics are just everywhere”. We need to discourage the use of plastic wherever possible.
