Let's put an end to single-use plastic packaging

BBC Presenter and Scientist Liz Bonnin has worked with some of the world's leading marine biologists and campaigners. Here she is talking at the Environmental Packaging Summit in July 2019 to the UK packaging industry.

Her message was clear - the use of single use plastics is wreaking havoc on our environment, our health and our planet.

Yet plastic production is still set to increase at an alarming rate.

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"The threats to our planet are big industry, lack of political will and our obsession for economic growth. I am irate at how our world leaders have been operating and how our industries take no responsibility for sustaining our planet and our future. I think that is why, more than with any other programme, I feel so compelled to continue the conversation and tell everyone the hard truth.

"It's not a nice thing to talk about. There is a lot of harrowing and difficult facts to swallow, but I feel we all need to know the real truth of this situation in order to be a part of the solution.

"It has taken us a long time to grasp how climate change is changing our planet. With plastic, it’s tangible: we can see it, smell it, touch it and see what it is doing to marine life. We know it breaks up into tiny pieces and leaks chemicals which are harmful to humans as well as sea life."