Steve Double, Member of Parliament for St Austell and Newquay has joined with Sky Ocean Rescue for today’s launch of the Plastic Free Parliament Campaign.
In 1950, the world’s population of 2.5 billion produced 1.5 million tons of plastic; in 2016, a global population of more than 7 billion people produced over 320 million tons of plastic. This is set to double by 2034. Every day approximately 8 million pieces of plastic pollution find their way into our oceans and there may now be around 5.25 trillion macro and microplastic pieces floating in the open ocean, altogether weighing up to 269,000 tonnes.
Parliamentarians will make a commitment to reduce the use of items such as plastic straws and plastic cutlery in their daily lives.
Commenting, Steve said:
“It was great to welcome Plasticus, the Sky Ocean Rescue whale, to Parliament today. While she is a formidable size, the plastic she is made of represents just a tiny fraction of what is wasted in the UK, plastic rubbish that often ends up in our marine environment, damaging wildlife habitats and poisoning the creatures that live in them.”
“I am delighted to have worked with Sky Ocean Rescue and Surfers Against Sewage, amongst other campaigners, in my capacity as Chair of the Protect Our Waves All Party Parliamentary Group, to launch the Plastic Free Parliament campaign.”
“Members of Parliament, as community leaders, have an important role to play in raising awareness, taking a lead and setting an example on this important matter. Specifically, this campaign is all about getting MPs to practise what many of us preach and sign up to reduce the amount of plastic we use in our offices. I hope this will be another step in the fight against plastic waste.”