Plastic pollution can now be found everywhere, from the remote shores of the Arctic to the deepest parts of the ocean. Up to 12 million tonnes of plastic leak into the marine environment annually, harming biodiversity and posing a threat to food security, sustainability and human health.
Today we release, with partner Greenpeace, the new report ‘Checking Out on Plastics II: Breakthroughs and backtracking from supermarkets’, revealing that seven of the top 10 supermarkets had increased the plastic packaging they use, also known as their ‘plastic footprint’.
In this report, the Environmental Investigation Agency and Greenpeace UK present the findings of the most comprehensive survey to date on how supermarkets are addressing plastic pollution
As a mandatory 5p charge for plastic bags comes into effect in England, this report calls on governments, industry, retailers and consumers alike to help end the appalling damage plastic waste inflicts on marine environments.
A staggering 6.4 million tonnes of marine litter is dumped in the ocean every year, it may fragment but does not biodegrade, persisting for hundreds or thousands of years. Single use plastic bags are a significant component of marine debris – more than eight billion plastic bags end up as litter across the EU each year
A briefing to the 64th Annual Meeting of the International Whaling Commission, in Panama, on the impacts of marine debris on cetaceans. Marine debris has the potential to affect all trophic levels and the entire food chain, from planktonic microorganisms through to marine megafauna including cetaceans