With the controversies of Brexit at the forefront of everyone’s mind, we often forget about our other concerns for our society, like the ever-worsening state of our planet. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn declared that the environmental issues we face far outweigh the importance of the Brexit debate. Corbyn has been quoted saying “we are facing a climate crisis. There’s no bigger threat to our future”.
Recent environmental legislation in play
With this in mind, here are two pieces of environmental legislation that have recently passed:
- In 2018, Poland passed legislation to put an end to the illegal dumping of waste brought in from foreign countries, notably due to the waste being incinerated in an effort to dispose of it. However, this releases large amounts of toxic smoke, and one fire took 250 firefighters two days to extinguish. As a result of this legislation, Poland has recently returned 4,000 tonnes of waste illegally dumped by the UK, with 1,000 tonnes of waste returned to us last year.
- The European Parliament voted to ban single-use plastic items in an attempt to prevent pollution of the marine environment. Firstly, EU members will have to reduce the use of plastic food containers and lids. Secondly, they need to ensure that plastic bottles are made from 25% recycled materials by 2025 – becoming 90% by 2029. This legislation also enacts a ‘polluters pay’ principle on the manufacturers of fishing nets; to cover the costs for the damage that derelict fishing nets cause.
Despite these changes, Brexit is never far. Even with the ban on single-use plastic being enshrined in EU Law, there is no guarantee that this will become a UK wide regulation. This said, the government released a new 25 Year Environment Plan in early 2018, aimed at ensuring Brexit becomes an opportunity for environmental protection and conservation.
What next?
So what are our next steps? Regardless of the environmental legislation, it’s clear that we – both as a nation and as individuals – need to take action. How much single-use plastic do you still consume? Discover your plastic footprint with Greenpeace’s calculator and take the first step towards reducing your plastic use. There are over 66 million people in the UK and we can all do our bit.
Plastic is a hot topic for our Local Authority clients, with many choosing to engage their residents in this issue. We use technology, competition and rewards to make the topic fun for residents and encourage participation. Check out our case studies for more information or take a look at our resident engagement solutions.