London
With the problem of ocean plastics expected to grow substantially in the coming years, the UK Chamber of Shipping has launched a new Single-Use Plastic Charter seeking to encourage companies to ban the use of non-essential single-use plastics by the end of 2021.
Research has found that 80 percent of plastic enters the marine environment from land-based sources, especially via rivers, according to the Chamber. They pointed out that through the IMO, MARPOL Annex V prohibits the discharge of garbage, including plastic, into the sea.
While the shipping industry has, over the last few decades, been proactive in improving its environmental performance, the pointed out that it is estimated there are over 150 million tons of plastic in the world’s oceans. Every year, one million birds and over 100,000 sea mammals die from ingesting or becoming entangled in plastic waste, yet the UK Government estimates that plastic in the sea is set to increase by threefold by 2025.—TLTP
