Tag: marine pollution

Ban on wet wipes containing plastic

Protecting the environment and reducing marine litter

The supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic will be banned across the UK following overwhelming support during public consultation, with 95% of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing with the proposals.

Measures have been set out in a joint response by all four UK nations published today (Monday April 22), including a transition period for businesses to help them prepare.

Scottish Ministers will introduce regulations by the end of 2024 with the ban due to come into force 18 months later.

Wet wipes containing plastic do not biodegrade in the natural environment and persist for many years, which may cause harm to wildlife and the environment, and are a source of unsightly litter and of microplastic pollution.

Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity Lorna Slater said: “I am delighted to confirm today that the Scottish Government will ban wet wipes containing plastic.

“These items are a problematic source of marine litter and are a threat to the health of our environment and wildlife. This ban delivers on an important commitment made in our Marine Litter Strategy and builds on previous actions to ban unnecessary single-use plastic items such as plastic-stemmed cotton buds and plastic straws and cutlery.

“These policies are all proof of the progress Scotland is making toward protecting our environment, and all contribute to our journey toward a circular economy.”

Plastic-free wet wipes are readily available and several retailers have already stopped selling wet wipes containing plastic.   

An 18-month transition period will commence when legislation is passed to allow businesses time to prepare. Following consultation with industry, the ban will not include the manufacture of these products, in line with other recent single-use plastic bans.

However, the governments of all four UK nations will continue to encourage manufacturers to move to a position where all their wet wipes are plastic free.   

The joint response also sets out exemptions to ensure that wet wipes containing plastic remain available where there is no viable alternative – such as for medical disinfectant purposes.

For the period 2015 to 2020, an average of 20 wet wipes were found per 100m of beach surveyed across the UK according to Defra Beach Litter Monitoring Data.

UK strengthens pledge to end plastic pollution by 2040

UK signs Ministerial Statement calling for an ambitious global plastic pollution treaty to tackle plastic pollution and protect the marine environment

The UK, alongside 52 other members of the High Ambition Coalition (HAC) to End Plastic Pollution, has signed a far-reaching Ministerial Statement, calling for an ambitious global plastic pollution treaty to tackle plastic pollution and protect the marine environment.

The HAC is a coalition of over 50 governments that have since agreed to end plastic pollution by 2040.

The Joint Ministerial Statement, published yesterday, calls for a range of mandatory provisions to be included in the global plastic pollution treaty, currently under negotiation.

These include reducing the production and consumption of primary plastic polymers to sustainable levels; eliminating and restricting unnecessary, avoidable or problematic plastics, chemicals and products; and eliminating the release of plastics into nature, amongst others.

The statement comes ahead of the second Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-2) taking place in Paris next week and sets out the HAC’s key ambitions for INC-2, taking the UK one step further towards the ambition of ending plastic pollution by 2040.

Plastic pollution is one of the biggest environmental threats that we currently face and is interlinked with climate change and biodiversity loss. This Joint Ministerial Statement builds on the UK government’s commitment to help to develop an ambitious, international legally binding treaty that demands urgent action on plastics and drives forward our mission to protect at least 30% of the world’s ocean by 2030.

Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said: “Plastic pollution continues to have a devastating effect on our world’s ocean, people and the wider environment. That’s why it’s more important than ever to step up, take action and drive forward the change needed to bring an end to plastic pollution globally.

“I am proud to be amongst other HAC members signing this statement that calls for ambitious new measures within the global plastics treaty and look forward to some productive and high-reaching discussions in the upcoming INC-2 meeting in Paris.”

The HAC statement builds on the UK’s wider commitments and work to protect and enhance the marine environment.

Earlier this year, delivering on the Environmental Improvement Plan the government announced the designation of the first three Highly Protected Marine Areas in English waters and launched a consultation on proposed management measures for sandeel fishing with the aim to reduce further negative impacts on important marine biodiversity.

Building on our existing single-use plastic bans and carrier bag charge, the Government is introducing further bans from October on a range of single-use plastic items – including plates, cutlery, balloon sticks and expanded and extruded polystyrene drinks containers. In April, we also announced that we will ban the sale of wet wipes containing plastic subject to public consultation.

The INC- 2 meeting taking place in Paris is the second out of five sessions with United Nations member states. A global plastic pollution treaty is hoped to be finalised by the end of 2024.

Keep Scotland Beautiful welcomes marine litter consultation

KEEP Scotland Beautiful has welcomed the opening of a public consultation on an updated Marine Litter Strategy which will run until 22 March 2022.

KSB CEO Barry Fisher said: “We know that 80% of marine litter comes from land and that we need to tackle this problem upstream.  Our stats also highlight that 88% of people believe that litter is a problem nationally, while 70% believe it is an issue in their local area – this is unacceptable.

“For over 30 years we have taken action to reduce marine and coastal litter and played an important role in the development of Scotland’s first Marine Litter Strategy which was published in 2014.    

“The two consultations running from now until the Spring of 2022 give everyone a chance to have our say on litter – on land and at sea.  The next three months provide those frustrated by litter with a huge opportunity to have their voices heard.”

Through KSB’s award-winning Upstream Battle campaign on the Clyde and now active on the Tay the organisation has supported community Anchor Groups to collect data which helped them publish their first citizen science report in June 2020.  You can ‘meet’ KSB’s Anchor Groups, and find out more about what they are doing to tackle litter from source to sea on KSB’s campaign pages.

Keep Scotland Beautiful is committed, alongside partners such as the Marine Conservation Society, Fidra, Scottish Water, Nature Scot and Crown Estate Scotland, to improve the quality of our marine environments.

Since 2014 KSB has also:

  • Driven action through the Treasure Your River campaign on the Forth, and the My Beach Your Beach campaign at key bathing waters in Scotland;
  • Supported communities and businesses to Clean Up their local beaches and coastlines by providing free Clean Up Kits;
  • Audited sites across Scotland using our Local Environmental Audit and Management System in line with the Environment Protection Act and associated Code of Practice for Litter and Refuse;
  • Recognised beach managers and communities through Scotland’s Beach Award programme; and
  • Assisted the Scottish Government with the development and delivery of the updated Marine Litter Strategy.

The Scottish Government is concurrently seeking views on a range of measures to prevent litter and flytipping, optimise services, improve data and strengthen enforcement as part of a separate consultation on a new National Litter and Flytipping Strategy which runs until 31 March 2022.

Keep Scotland Beautiful looks forward to playing their part by supporting people across Scotland to have their voices heard and to make responses to the consultations over the coming months.  Find out more here.

Coach Tour chief’s alarm over ‘shocking’ Silverknowes beach pollution

Staff from Granton-based Timberbush Tours, one of the country’s leading coach tour operators, recently completed its voluntary annual ‘beach clean day’ along the foreshore at Silverknowes, helping to lessen the visual and harmful impact plastic waste has on our local environment. Continue reading Coach Tour chief’s alarm over ‘shocking’ Silverknowes beach pollution

Wardie Bay beach clean this Sunday

This latest Wardie Bay Beachwatch, providing citizen science data to Marine Conservation Society, is in memory of an entangled humpback that marine life rescuers tried desperately to save. 

Members of the Marine Clean 2019 group named the whale White Fluke (or Tynae), and they are hosting a Firth of Forth-wide beach clean on Sunday 16 June to encourage everyone to make our seas a better place. Ghost Gear – fishing ropes – weighed this majestic whale down like an anchor, cutting its fluke, until it was eventually too exhausted to fight.

Let’s join forces and help mitigate the harm our careless consumerism does to marine life!

Sunday 16 June
09:30 – 12:00

Please take part in our survey, but if we get lots of people, we’re able to spread out and do a thorough sweep of the neighbouring area too.
Sign Up!

Can you believe it? Olympic find during beach cleanup

Volunteer beach cleaners collected over 400 items of rubbish at the Marine Conservation Society’s spring beach clean and litter survey at Cramond beach on April 6th – and among them was a 31 year old Coke can advertising the 1988 Olympics. Continue reading Can you believe it? Olympic find during beach cleanup

World leading microbeads ban comes into force today

UK leads the way in tackling the scourge of marine pollution

A ban on the sale of products containing microbeads has come into force today as part of the Westminster Government’s world-leading efforts to prevent these harmful pieces of plastic entering the marine environment. Continue reading World leading microbeads ban comes into force today

Today’s Wardie Bay Beachwatch event CANCELLED

Event rescheduled for next Saturday

Due to a terrible weather forecast, we have had to POSTPONE today’s event as we can’t record our important message in wind & rain (writes KAREN BATES).

Join us next Saturday at 12:00 for our @mcsuk beachclean followed by SOS!!!

Sign up fresh here: https://www.mcsuk.org/…/b…/wardie-bay-beach/event/2018-06-16 or here: https://www.facebook.com/events/653386118339741/

Wardie Bay Beachwatch SOS! Join us! •••−−−••• 10am, Saturday 16 June

Our next Wardie Bay Beachwatch, providing citizen science data to Marine Conservation Society, will be preceded by a mass participation SOS citizen sculpture, to be represented at the Edinburgh Shoreline exhibition at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 23 July to 23 September.

The day also celebrates Friend’s of the Earth Scotland’s Pop Up Parks.

We want Wardie Bay to be the beautiful, thriving greenspace it deserves to be. So, please travel by bike, bus or car-share, bring hearty zero-waste picnic food, and let’s have a fabulous community garden party!
• • • − − − • • •
Saturday 16 June
10:00am  prompt!

We’ll create the SOS first, so if you want to stay for the MCS Beachwatch survey and beach clean, join us from 12:30 – 15:00.
Sign Up!