IT’S A PART of everyday life. From the food we eat to the products we use, plastic is everywhere.

However it is becoming a huge environmental issue as plastic waste is an ever growing sight in towns, the countryside and is having a destructive effect on the world’s oceans.

In 2017 China announced it will no longer accept various materials from 2018, including some unsorted plastic waste from foreign countries.

As almost two-thirds of the UKs plastic waste is sent to China this will have a huge knock-on effect on our plastic waste management.

Environmental groups, including Greenpeace, have raised the issue that many existing recycling centres are currently stretched to capacity. Although the effect isn't clear yet, it is likely to become an issue in the future.

The national voluntary environmental charity Keep Wales Tidy reported in their cleanliness survey for 2016 – 2017 that plastic bottles were found on more than 14 per cent of streets across Wales.

Nia Lloyd said on behalf of charity said: “It is critical that we change our ways to help improve the environment and communities that we live in.

“We can’t continue to live in a ‘throw-away’ society and so it’s crucial that everyone realises the negative impact that litter has on our communities.”

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The biggest threat to the environment is single-use plastics that often end up polluting our seas and

The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales says that by 2020 it is predicted that there will be more pieces of plastic in the ocean than fish.

Ms Lloyd added: “More than eight million tonnes of plastic pollution are dumped into the ocean globally every year.

“Of course, the issue of marine litter is not just relevant to coastal communities – in fact 80 per cent of marine debris is from land-based sources.

“So, to address marine litter, it’s crucial for everyone to understand how litter from land ends up in our rivers and oceans and to come together to tackle this problem.”

HARMING WILDLIFE

Plastic is also harming local wildlife. RSPCA Cymru receive thousands of calls about wildlife who have been affected by plastic littering.

On February 6 a duck was found by a lake by in Blaina near Abertillery which had a plastic ring trapped in his bill and around the back of his head.

RSPCA inspector Simon Evans said: “This poor duck would have sadly starved to death and would have experienced painful suffering for a long period of time if we hadn’t intervened.

“It’s really shocking and sad to see wildlife suffer in this way, when it could have been easily preventable. This is why we always ask people to please dispose of their waste responsibly.”

The issue of plastic waste and the harm done to our planet was highlighted in the BBC series Blue Planet II which highlighted the damaged caused in the oceans by plastics.

PLASTIC IN POLITICS

In January Theresa May launched the UK government’s 25-year environmental plan which includes eradicating all avoidable plastic waste in the UK by 2042.

Ever since plastic waste is an issue that has been high on the political agenda.

Torfaen MP Nick Thomas-Symonds is one Gwent politician who has spoken on the issue.

When addressing environment secretary Michael Gove in Parliament in January, the Labour MP said: "The UK is in a unique position to tackle plastic waste in the world’s oceans due to the number of our overseas territories.

“Will the secretary of state (Mr Gove) be speaking to those overseas territories to develop a comprehensive strategy in this area?"

Mr Gove replied his department would be holding talks with UK foreign territories, which include the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar and Bermuda, over the issue this month.

Jessica Morden, MP for Newport East, has signed a pledge to Pass on Plastic with Sky Ocean Rescue to commit to reduce single-use plastic consumption.

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She said: “Sky have been working hard to raise awareness of ocean health and I am have been inspired to join their campaign and look at ways to reduce my own plastic consumption. It is deeply worrying that there are five trillion pieces of plastic in the world’s oceans, with eight million tonnes more ending up there every year.

“We all have a role to play in protecting our oceans."

Monmouth AM Nick Ramsay, the Assembly’s species champion for the freshwater pearl mussel recently said: “In the light of Iceland’s pledge to eliminate plastic packaging from its supermarket brands by the early 2020s, the Welsh Government must look at ways it can help food retailers move away from the use of plastics in everyday items such as disposable cups and straws.”

In his constituency the County Council are in the process of writing to takeaway businesses to ask them to consider reducing the amount of plastic and polystyrene packaging they use.

Carl Touhig, interim head of waste at the Monmouthshire County Council said: “Councils continue to be under enormous financial pressure to deliver services for our residents. It’s far better that our limited resources are spent on education and social care than picking up the cost of unnecessary roadside litter and non-recyclable packaging waste."

A spokesman for the council added: "A great deal of today’s litter is generated from the developing ‘Food on the Go’ culture and the council would like to see more research into this area.

"We are supporting the expansion of water refilling outlets in local retailers, which will reduce the number of drinks bottles purchased.

"Ultimately producers and designers should be made more responsible for the consequences of dealing with their products, rather than passing those costs onto the local authority.

"One possible solution could be some form of deposit return scheme whereby this type of waste has a value, so encouraging its return to the retailer."

Newport City Council is currently investigating ways it can reduce its own plastic consumption.

A spokeswoman said: “Newport City Council can only change its own practices and is investigating ways to reduce the use of plastics in the civic centre and would encourage others to follow suit.

The Welsh Government is currently working on plans for a disposable plastics tax, although no details of the tax have been released.

A Welsh Government spokesman said: “Our recycling rate is among the very best in the world and to build on this success we have launched a study to examine the potential of Extended Producer Responsibility schemes and Deposit Return Schemes. The study will report back shortly.
 “We are also exploring options around widening access to drinking water in public places and are actively engaging with water companies and City to Sea, who worked on the scheme in Bristol, to take this forward.

“The Finance Secretary recently made a statement on a future tax on disposable plastics. We have secured involvement in the UK Governments’ call for evidence about how it will address the issue of single use plastics, including through use of a tax. Work will also continue to develop a standalone disposable plastics tax for Wales.”

PLASTICS IN BUSINESS

Businesses are becoming more proactive when it comes to reducing their plastic use.

One business which is working to reduce its packaging is fish and chip shop The Codfather, located on Frogmore Street in Abergavenny.

Owner Andrew Ewers said: “From the beginning, my wife and I have always made sure that we do our best to recycle as much as possible. And now we have switched to cardboard chip trays and wooden forks instead of polystyrene and plastic.

“Wherever possible, we are looking to use less of the stuff that can’t be recycled, both in the Codfather and Frydays, our shop on Underhill Crescent.

“We have very loyal customers and the response from them has been overwhelmingly positive.

“The fish on which we depend can only thrive in plastic-free oceans - that’s why we are keen to play our part in this initiative. It’s good for business and good for the planet.”

In Newport the Office for National Statistics (ONS) is currently trailing plastic removal from its office.

A spokesperson for the Office for National Statistics said: “ONS has recently removed plastic cutlery from its on-site restaurant in Newport on a trial basis.

“We hope this project will help us move toward the objective of ONS being a more environmentally friendly organisation, with the wider Greening Government Commitments pledging to phase out use of single-use plastics after 2020.”

GoCompare, who are based in Duffryn, currently promote recycling in the workplace.

A spokeswoman said: “We have cup drop points to recycle coffee cups on each floor next to liquid drops to ensure recycling. We have handed out reusable sports bottles to every new starter and current staff and have a sparkling and still water tap to refill these.

“We also hand out GoCo reusable silicon coffee cups to encourage the team to cut down on using cardboard cups. There are also have recycling drops on each floor, divided into bins of paper, card, aluminium and plastic.”

Anheuser-Busch InBev, which has a brewery in Magor, are also working to reduce their platic use.

A spokeswoman for the company said: "As the leading global brewer we are always looking for ways to improve our sustainability and we have recently introduced a new scheme for how we wrap our final products at our Magor brewery which will reduce our plastic impact by around 70 tonnes per year."

REUSING PLASTIC

As the Argus reported, businesses in the city have joined forces to launch a free water refilling scheme in a bid to cut down on plastic bottles usage.

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Visitors to the refill points, which range from cafes, shops to restaurants, will have their water bottle refilled free of charge.

Meat Bar and Grill were the first to join the scheme after owner Dave Roberts saw outlets in Bristol taking part.

“During recent trips Bristol myself and my wife, Christa noticed a lot of restaurants and cafes displaying a blue sign with a water symbol on it.

“We spotted an article about the refill campaign that started in Bristol encouraging people to “refill rather than Landfill” their plastic bottles.

“We decided that as a forward thinking independent company we would love to bring the idea to Newport.”

Participating businesses place a sticker in their windows to alert passers-by that they are taking part in the scheme.

People can also find their nearest station using the Refill app. More information can be found at refill.org.uk.