P-05-803 Our natural world is being poisoned by single use plastics...it’s time to introduce a tax!

This petition was submitted by Friends of Barry Beaches and was first considered by the Committee in March 2018, having collected 102 signatures online.

Text of Petition

The evidence is there for those who want to see...our addiction to single use "throw away" plastic is poisoning our natural world.

Sea birds are eating plastics, fish are eating plastics, shell fish are eating plastics and we, therefore, are eating plastics.

The production of single use plastics are increasing year upon year, yet only 9% of plastics are recycled in the world.

Since large scale production of plastics began in the 1950's, we have produced 8.3 billion tonnes...equivalent to the weight of one billion African elephants! And that figure is expected to reach 34 billion tonnes by 2050!!

None of this plastic has biodegraded over this time, its just got smaller and smaller, making it nearly impossible to remove!

We urge the Welsh Government to introduce a tax on all single use plastics similar to the very successful 5p charge on single use carrier bags.

It's time to take action. 

Additional Information

Friends of Barry Beaches are a voluntary group, set up seven years ago, who's aim is to remove litter, much of it plastic, from Barry's five main beaches. We strive to recycle as much as we can.

We need to design our packaging and single use containers so that they biodegrade easily within our environment.

Assembly Constituency and Region

· Vale of Glamorgan   

· South Wales Central