March 1, 2018

PAPER STRAWS AND OTHER ALTERNATIVES: ARE THEY A STEP TO THE FINAL SOLUTION OR JUST MORE QUICK FIXES?

Just this week, new initiatives to help and protect the environment have come into the spotlight here in the UK. The Evening Standard continues to advertise and educate their readers on "The Last Straw" campaign, Starbucks has announced a new 5p charge on non-reusable cups in store, and the Queen has banned plastic cutlery in all of her palaces.

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Environmental organizations and charities around the world work day in and day out to do what they can to protect wildlife but if the public isn't in on what needs to be done, these organizations can only do so much. And for the people who don't have that same passion for the environment, only legislation can help.

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There has been talk about the EU enacting laws on single-use plastic by as early as this summer. So, I spoke to Lizzie Prior from the Marine Conservation Society on this topic and where she wants to see legislation go regarding the war on plastics.

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Why the sudden speed-up in initiatives and campaigns around the UK? Penalizations for usage of products such as plastic bags from supermarkets have had a 5p charge on them for over a couple years now. However, some have increased this charge and seen an even bigger difference. Hear comments from supermarket giants such as M&S and Tesco in this documentary.

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Some differences start with big steps from organizations and the government but one little girl here in the UK made a huge difference just by sending in a letter to a certain chain restaurant about their usage of plastic straws and how that made her feel. This company immediately switched to paper straws thanks to this little girl's wish. Find out who it was in Miranda Tomlinson's documentary on plastic in the UK and where it has to go to stay out of our oceans.

Producer: Miranda Tomlinson

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