Hi John,

Plastic is everywhere. It’s in our oceans, it’s in our rivers and even in our sea salt [1]. Whether it’s plastic cups, bottles or packaging, plastic has invaded our natural world.

But we’ve seen measures that reduce our plastic use - since government introduced a small plastic bag charge, usage has fallen by over 85% [2]. Can you urge the government to do the same for single-use cups?

Every year, over 5 billion single-use cups are used in the UK’s coffee shops and takeaways. A majority of these cups contain plastic - yet only 4% are captured for recycling [3]. The rest make their way to landfill or pollute our environment, putting animals and marine life at risk.

But we know, and more importantly, the government knows that by adding a small charge to single-use cups we can dramatically reduce usage, helping to reduce the amount of plastic polluting our planet.

They’ve had firsthand experience of this as the charge has been introduced already in Parliament, and usage had a massive drop of 74%.

Can you urge the Chancellor Sajid Javid and this new government to start their tenure by putting the planet first?

The good news is, plastic is a huge issue for the public and for politicians. Everyone from politicians, chefs, wildlife experts and even royals are calling for a reduction on plastic.

Because of public demand, it seems inevitable until more plastic reduction measures are introduced, but our planet doesn’t have time to waste. Make your voice heard.

Thanks for everything you do,

Anthony and the plastics team

P.S. This petition is in partnership with Keep Britain Tidy, Surfers against Sewage, Marine Conservation Society and Campaign for Rural England.

Notes: 
[1] Sea salt around the world is contaminated by plastic, studies show
[2] Plastic bag sales in England down by a third in last year
[3] Latte levy on MPs cuts paper cup use by three quarters 
 

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