Until the mid-1950s, plastics were precious commodities that were used and treated carefully. But in just 65 years, plastic production has increased by 18,300 per cent – fuelling a relentless convenience lifestyle that produces enormous and unnecessary quantities of waste.
Recent years have witnessed an alarming increase in the illegal trade of plastic waste, with high-income countries consuming plastic products and packaging at unsustainable rates, exporting their plastic waste to developing countries with little capacity and infrastructure to manage it.
For the third year, the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and Greenpeace UK have surveyed the major supermarkets and grocery retailers in the UK on their efforts to reduce plastic pollution.
For the third year, the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and Greenpeace UK have surveyed the major supermarkets and grocery retailers in the UK on their efforts to reduce plastic pollution.
Plastic pollution is one of the greatest anthropogenic threats our planet faces and protection of the marine environment is a common concern of humankind.
The main component of sea-based sources of marine plastic pollution is abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear, also referred to as ghost gear. Fishing gear accounts for approximately 10 per cent of global marine plastic pollution though in some regions it is closer to half the overall mass in our oceans and seas.