Microplastics

I’ve previously campaigned on the prevalence of microplastics in our environment, and especially the marine environment, 20 years ago. Further pollution only adds to the problems which already exist, as these take many decades to fully break down. I was brought up in an era when we refilled our milk bottles, bought sweets weighed out from jars in paper bags and returned our fizzy drinks bottles. I’m not saying that to be tiresomely nostalgic about the past, but simply to show we have been able to function as a society without dependence on disposable plastic, and I’m confident, if we get the incentives right, we can do it again.

The Liberal Democrats would create a nature-positive economy, tackle plastic pollution and waste, and increase our ability to reuse and recycle by:

• Introducing a deposit return scheme for food and drink bottles and containers, working with the devolved administrations to ensure consistency across the UK, and, for example, learning the lessons from the difficulties experienced with the Scottish scheme.
• Aiming for the complete elimination of non-recyclable single-use plastics within three years and replacing them with affordable alternatives.
• Working to protect 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030 through the UN High Seas Treaty and finalising a Global Plastics Treaty to cut plastic pollution worldwide.
• Setting an ambition of ending plastic waste exports by 2030.