BBIA is among the signatories of a letter calling for the UK Government to ban plastic materials that require additives to degrade from being sold to the public.
The open letter, published on 22 October 2020 in national newspaper The Telegraph, urges the Government to follow in the footsteps of the EU, which is currently in the process of banning similar oxo-degradable plastics from 2021.
This comes after the news that the British Standards Institution (BSI) has brought into force a new specification that supports the sale of this kind of plastic.
The letter emphasises that degradable materials do not solve the plastic pollution problem, but rather exacerbate it, as people are more likely to litter, being under the impression that these materials are biodegradable.
The materials also pose a problem for UK recycling facilities, since they will not be able to differentiate between conventional plastics and doctored alternatives.
Signatories include BBIA, Tesco, Waitrose, Coop, Aldi, National Farmers’ Union, A Plastic Planet and the Environmental Services Association.
You can read the open letter at this link.