Greenpeace – Plastic Waste Export Campaign
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The UK generates more plastic waste per person than nearly every other country – second only to the US – and the government tells us that at least half of this waste is recycled. But this year Greenpeace exposed that actually less than 10% of our own plastic waste is recycled here in the UK. Well over half of it is sent overseas – overwhelming other countries’ recycling systems and causing serious harm to their citizens and environment.
Working with a team of activists in Turkey, Greenpeace investigated the impact of plastic from the UK on the local environment and communities. What they discovered was shocking: tonnes of plastic packaging and bags from UK retailers such as Tesco, Co-Op and Marks & Spencer burning out in the open, filling the air with toxic fumes.
Greenpeace launched a vital campaign to cut off this destructive escape route for UK plastic waste by demanding that the Government bans plastic waste exports and makes drastic reductions to the amount of plastic waste being produced in the first place. We Have The POWER is proud to support Greenpeace’s campaign to get the UK on a path to halve our plastic use by 2025: to protect our oceans, wildlife and the communities who are forced to live alongside these horrifying waste sites.
See their fantastic animation – Wasteminster: A Downing Street Disaster here.
Also read their Investigative report from Turkey: Trashed: HOW THE UK IS STILL DUMPING PLASTIC WASTE ON THE REST OF THE WORLD
