National Audit Office waste management report – Greenpeace comment

Responding to the National Audit Office’s report on the UK’s management of waste packaging, Ariana Densham, plastics campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said:

“The government hasn’t been looking at the full picture of what happens to our plastic waste, and it has become easier and cheaper for companies to export waste abroad than to make sure it is recycled adequately in the UK. Companies have been putting our discarded plastic on ships and forgetting about it, while still collecting credits that don’t represent a proper waste management plan.

“We already have far more plastic than our recycling systems can cope with and global production is set to quadruple by 2050. To really tackle our ocean plastic problem, we need to turn off the tap at its source and drastically reduce the volume of single-use plastic being produced. Companies making and selling single-use plastic need to urgently cut the amount they put in circulation, and ministers must take steps to make sure waste exports are not incentivised, and come up with effective taxes and bans so plastic action matches the urgency of the problem and producers are held accountable for the plastic they produce.”

ENDS

Media Contact

Greenpeace UK press office, press.uk@greenpeace.org, 020 7865 8255.