On Monday evening, Rebecca Harris joined Sir David Attenborough CBE and International Development Secretary Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt MP in Parliament to raise awareness about tackling plastic pollution across the globe.
The event, co-hosted by the Coalition for Global Prosperity, Plastic Oceans UK and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Prevention of Plastic Waste, brought together parliamentarians from across the political spectrum and senior stakeholders for a discussion on British leadership combatting plastic waste on the international stage, as well as domestically.
It put a spotlight on the UK’s commitment to reducing plastic waste across the world, and the opportunity for Britain to be at the forefront of these global conservation efforts. At the event, International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt doubled UK aid support for plastic recycling in developing countries and called for solutions to clearing plastic waste from the world’s oceans and rivers.
Sir David Attenborough CBE said:
“Now the world globally is producing every year 400 million tonnes of plastic and 10 million tonnes of that goes into the oceans…The consequences of this both to humanity and life in the seas upon which we depend is hideous.”
The UK uses an astonishing 13 billion plastic bottles each year, and our throwaway society means 5 and a half billion of them are landfilled, littered or incinerated.
From microplastics disrupting our fishing industry and sparking concerns about public health, to beautiful stretches of British coastline being ruined, it is essential that the issue of plastic pollution is confronted with coordinated efforts around the world.
Rebecca Harris MP said:
“Plastic pollution is a really important issue, which I am glad we are highlighting as it not only affects us today but dictates what situation we leave future generations in. It was an honour to meet David Attenborough and learn more about a cause he has worked so hard to raise awareness of. We need to make both a local and global effort to keep our communities clean, which I am glad to see happening in my constituency.”
In Castle Point, residents operate a Canvey Island Bay Watch to keep the coast clean and carry out beach cleans, and the Council holds a recycling week each year to highlight the importance of recycling.
For more information on how to make sure you are reducing, reusing and recycling effectively you can visit Castle Point Council’s website at https://www.castlepoint.gov.uk/recycling.
