Open letter calls for G7 summit to tackle plastic pollution

An open letter has been signed by a number of key businesses and campaigners to call on governments to tackle the growing issue of plastic pollution at this year's G7 summit to be held in Cornwall.

Big players such as Nestlé are joined by supermarket chains Aldi, Iceland and the Co-op and others to try to forge a path for a binding global treaty to tackle the threat of plastic pollution.

Read more: Construction begins on pioneering plastic recycling plant in UK

Nestlé is currently one of the world's leaders in plastic pollution, constantly ranking near the top of studies done into the field, but has pledged to cut its plastic pollution and focus on recycling recently.

In all, more than 30 business leaders, environmental groups, campaigners, peers and MPs signed the letter ahead of the G7 summit in June.

TV Presenter Chris Packham and activist group Surfers Against Sewage have also offered their support.

They warn that 300 million tonnes of plastic is produced every year, while less than 10% of all the plastic ever produced has been recycled.

"The rest piles up in landfills, is incinerated, or ends up littering our natural environment for centuries," the letter added.

The letter also warned the pandemic has contributed to this issue by leading to "mountains" of discarded PPE.

It said: “The pandemic has only sent us deeper into this crisis. In just two months, one billion items of PPE were handed out in the UK alone. Globally, three million face masks are thrown away every minute – amounting to 129 billion every month – mostly disposable, mostly plastic.

“Globally three million face masks are thrown away every minute – amounting to 129 billion every month – mostly disposable, mostly plastic."

The letter also notes that 70 governments, including the UK, have expressed support for a global plastic treaty to tackle the problem, noting the issue will never b dealt with without a united global effort.

Some of these governments are also set to attend the G7 summit.

The global plastic pollution issue currently threatens the Paris Climate Accord targets by contributing to the climate crisis via carbon emissions.

Recent research found that 55% of all plastic pollution is conducted by 20 companies.

Read more: 20 companies produce 55% of global plastic waste, research reveals

Both state-owned and private businesses make it onto the list which is made up of oil and gas giants and chemical companies, according to a detailed new analysis.

There has also been a scientific push for ways of dealing with plastic pollution on a mass scale.

For example, a recent research unit in China found a bacteria that could consume certain types of plastic polymers.

This follows on from a number of other similar enzymes that have been discovered to be able to digest plastic, but significant strides need to be made to unleash it on an industrial scale.

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