16. Plastics in the environment

This section describes the statutory, business and third section mechanisms for micro and other plastics.

There is increasing concern about the potential impacts of micro-plastics in the environment. The Environment Agency are working with others to investigate sources, pathways and impacts, using a growing number of studies to inform the work, informed and shaped by knowledge gaps.

The Environment Agency does not currently routinely monitor for micro-plastics in the environment but responds to plastic pollution based on incident reporting. Various research studies and organisations using citizen science approaches have measured plastic pollution levels, such as nurdles, with data from this work demonstrating some notable hotspots of micro-plastic pollution.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), academia and water companies and the Environment Agency are collaborating to achieve greater harmonisation over sampling and assessment methodologies, definitions and outcomes for monitoring micro-plastics in the environment.

Businesses, leading academics and the Environment Agency are working to investigate the types and quantities of plastics entering the environment, and this research will feed into plans to tackle this type of pollution at source.

There is no Environmental Quality Standard for plastics. The principle is that emissions of plastics biobeads or other plastic media should be limited as far as reasonably practicable and a regulatory approach for point source discharges, such as from waste water treatment works, is being developed based on this principle.

Through its statutory duties, the Environment Agency already have mechanisms to manage plastic pollution at several stages of manufacture, use and disposal. Examples include regulation through Environmental Permit Regulations of plastic manufacturing, and waste recycling and disposal operations, along with producer responsibility and trans-frontier shipment responsibilities. Where plastic pollution occurs and the source can be identified, the Environment Agency will use its existing powers to take action.

There are a number of government policy initiatives, aimed at strengthening the circular economy for plastics, reducing the amount of plastic waste produced and preventing it escaping into the environment. Initiatives include:

  • English and Scottish government ban in 2018 on the sale and production of personal care products containing micro-beads
  • English government brought in a ban in October 2020 of the supply of plastic drinking straws, stirrers and cotton buds to the end user
  • Defra are implementing their Litter Strategy to reduce plastics entering the environment
  • Defra’s Resources and Waste Strategy together with Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and Treasury policy and financial initiatives set out the ambition and recommendations for a circular economy for plastics

English Marine Plans contain a marine litter policy (ML-1) where public authorities developing plans (such as river basin management plans), must have regard to ML-1 and build in measures to avoid the introduction of litter to the marine area.

Business-led initiatives to reduce plastic used, increase reuse and recycling the plastics used while preventing losses to environment include:

  • WRAP (a charity that promote and encourage sustainable resource use), and Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s United Kingdom Plastics Pact; a voluntary business led initiative to reduce plastic packaging
  • Business in the Community’s Circular Economy Taskforce
  • Operation Clean Sweep; a voluntary scheme that provides a framework of best practice preventing the loss of plastic pellets, flakes and powders across the supply chain from producers to users
  • British Retail Consortium’s Global Standards now include pellet management within their revised packaging standard
  • Fishing For Litter providing port waste reception facilities to encourage fishermen to bring back lost or discarded fishing gear
  • the Global Ghost Gear Initiative is a partnership of the fishing industry, private and third sector, academia and governments tackling the issues of lost and abandoned fishing gear and various smaller circular systems whereby ocean plastics are collected and turned back into plastic pellets and products, such as canoes made from these recycled plastics

Various initiatives are led by the third sector, charitable and community based organisations:

  • Surfers Against Sewage – Big Spring Beach Clean, Plastic Free Communities, Businesses and Schools
  • Marine Conservation Society – Beach Watch annual survey and beach cleaning campaign, Sea Champions and Plastic Challenge
  • Keep Britain Tidy – Great British Spring Clean & Litter Heroes and behavioural insights research

  • BinIt4Beaches campaigns: partnership involving the water sector and a range of organisations, including Keep Britain Tidy, Marine Conservation Society, Surfers Against Sewage, water companies and others to raise awareness to prevent plastics being flushed down the drains