100 signatures reached
To: Welsh Government
Ban Polystyrene(EPS) Fast Food and Drinks Packaging
The time has come to halt the sight of millions of polystyrene food and drinks cartons littering the beaches and countryside of Wales. Polystyrene(EPS) is a major component of urban litter and marine debris. It is detrimental to wildlife that ingests it and costs millions for Welsh Councils to remove from our streets. Polystyrene takes hundreds of years to degrade. Over 100 US (including New York),Canadian, and also European cities have banned or are about to ban polystyrene food packaging as a result of the negative impacts of the Environment. We hope that wales will have the vision to join that list. Therefore, with so many alternatives to polystyrene(EPS) packaging now available which has significantly less impact on the environment and human health and also to save Welsh taxpayers millions of pounds in street cleansing costs we, the undersigned, request that the Welsh Government introduces a ban on all polystyrene fast food and drink packaging.
Why is this important?
Environmental Group The Friends of Barry Beaches have launched a petition calling on the Welsh Government to ban the use of polystyrene fast food and drinks containers throughout Wales.
They say they are “sick and tired” with removing thousands of polystyrene fast food and hot drinks containers from local Welsh beaches especially when there are bio-degradable alternatives(cardboard or cornstarch) readily available on the market.
The Chairman of FoBB and also the Cabinet Member for the Environment and Visible Services on the Vale of Glamorgan Council, Councillor Rob Curtis, said:
“We now need the support of the people of Britain to finally put an end to this fast food polystyrene madness. Our beach cleaning volunteers are sick and tired of removing thousands of items of polystyrene from our beaches each year. These products are made from petroleum, a non-sustainable and heavily polluting resource.
It is costing local Councils millions to clean up this mess week in week out, but it is also costing our environment a lot more. Marine animals easily mistake polystyrene for fish eggs, these in turn are eaten by larger marine animals and the polystyrene is passed on. Polystyrene takes hundreds… if not thousands of years to biodegrade, in the meantime it just gets smaller and smaller thus making it easier for our wildlife to ingest!
But it does not have to be this way… nearly all our larger fast food chains have switched to biodegradable alternatives. Yet go to any small takeaway on the high street or at a major event and they will nearly always supply you with a polystyrene food container and hot drink cup. None of it will be recycled because it is so difficult to recycle polystyrene.
Just last month the City Council of New York unanimously decided to vote for a ban on polystyrene food containers (if they are unable to find an economical recycling solution). It is now time for the Welsh Government to take a lead and vote to protect our communities, our countryside and our beaches from this horrendous blight."
They say they are “sick and tired” with removing thousands of polystyrene fast food and hot drinks containers from local Welsh beaches especially when there are bio-degradable alternatives(cardboard or cornstarch) readily available on the market.
The Chairman of FoBB and also the Cabinet Member for the Environment and Visible Services on the Vale of Glamorgan Council, Councillor Rob Curtis, said:
“We now need the support of the people of Britain to finally put an end to this fast food polystyrene madness. Our beach cleaning volunteers are sick and tired of removing thousands of items of polystyrene from our beaches each year. These products are made from petroleum, a non-sustainable and heavily polluting resource.
It is costing local Councils millions to clean up this mess week in week out, but it is also costing our environment a lot more. Marine animals easily mistake polystyrene for fish eggs, these in turn are eaten by larger marine animals and the polystyrene is passed on. Polystyrene takes hundreds… if not thousands of years to biodegrade, in the meantime it just gets smaller and smaller thus making it easier for our wildlife to ingest!
But it does not have to be this way… nearly all our larger fast food chains have switched to biodegradable alternatives. Yet go to any small takeaway on the high street or at a major event and they will nearly always supply you with a polystyrene food container and hot drink cup. None of it will be recycled because it is so difficult to recycle polystyrene.
Just last month the City Council of New York unanimously decided to vote for a ban on polystyrene food containers (if they are unable to find an economical recycling solution). It is now time for the Welsh Government to take a lead and vote to protect our communities, our countryside and our beaches from this horrendous blight."
