In the UK an average person produces 63kg of personal plastic waste per year. That’s 4 million tonnes across the UK. Globally 381 million tonnes are produced. That’s up 200 times since 1950 when globally there was only 2 million tonnes of plastic waste.

By 2025 plastic pollution is to increase 10 fold. If this carries on, by 2050 the weight of plastics in the ocean will be equivalent to the mass of all fish in the sea.

The UK accounts for 1.3% of the problem, even though we are 0.8% of global population. Our management practices result in 43% of plastics being ‘recycled’ but the majority of this either eventually sent to landfill or burnt. It is estimated that 9% of plastic is actually reused through recycling processes.

The world has woken up to the impact plastic is having in ecosystems across the world. In response supermarkets have pledged to cut plastic used in packaging, and the government has banned certain plastic items.

The clear drive is for society to reduce the use of single use plastics, but how high is the cost of doing this across all the movement and transportation of goods? We will explore various solutions from the circular economy through to simply getting rid of single use plastic.

Continue the discussion on Better Century.

Speakers

Connor Bryant -Co Founder and Director @The Rubbish Project and Loop Innovations

Connor is a circular economy entrepreneur. He is co-founder & Director of Loop Innovations & The Rubbish Project. One of their first products is The Rubbish Cup, which is the only cup in the UK that’s made from 100% recycled plastic and is part of a closed loop, circular economy solution. No new plastic enters the planet to make the cups and no waste plastic is produced after they’ve been used. Connor believes the populist anti plastic movement may in fact be doing more harm than good. Plastic in many cases is the most environmentally friendly material choice, especially in a circular economy model, and there are mountains of scientific evidence to support this. Ocean plastic is a massive issue, but it’s a waste management issue not a material one.

Jo Ruxton - Founder and Director @Plastic Oceans

Jo initially co-founded the Plastic Oceans Foundation in 2009, to fund our documentary feature, ‘A Plastic Ocean’, which raises awareness whilst entertaining people on the impact of plastic in the oceans. Along with this feature length documentary, she launched programs in Science & Policy, Sustainability & Environmental Impact and now heads up a Conservation & Education department. By 2020 Plastic Oceans UK aims to transform how consumers, governments, and businesses view, use, and dispose of plasti