In Jersey, as in any affluent Western society, we justify our behaviour, blaming the fast pace of our lifestyle, the lack of availability of environmentally friendly options and the dominance of national retail suppliers. There are few options and it is very convenient.
But the truth is that plastic never degrades and it is entering our food chain via its ingestion by marine life and through contamination of ground water. This toxic contaminant can cause cancer, birth defects and impair immunity. It costs millions each year to dispose of or recycle.
The United Nations Environment Programme estimates that by 2050 the oceans will contain more plastic than fish and in response to this global catastrophe, it has launched an international Clean Seas Campaign encouraging countries and businesses to take ambitious measures to eliminate the excessive use of single-use, disposable plastic and microplastic items by 2022.
In line with this, Jersey could become a model for a more sustainable approach to life with very little impact on our lifestyle. For example, we could easily eliminate single-use plastic bags, water bottles, straws, eating utensils, coffee cups, microbeads in cosmetics and unnecessary plastic packaging. There are alternative, compostable or more sustainable options for each of these. Indeed, the French government has not only banned single-use plastic bags, but has taken the bold step of passing a law to ban plastic plates, cups and utensils by 2020. The Minister for Infrastructure will soon revise the States’ Solid Waste Strategy. There is no denying that since it was originally published in 2005, the States have made significant improvements to recycling our Island’s waste. However, the long-term vision of this strategy was that Jersey become a less wasteful society and this aspect of the problem has not been tackled convincingly.
I believe that through education, awareness and statutory control, the States of Jersey is now in a unique position to reverse the trend of our single-use society and promote a more sustainable, less toxic way of life which we can be proud to pass on to the next generation. When revising the Island’s Solid Waste Strategy, I hope that the Minister for Infrastructure recognises the need not just to achieve better recycling targets, but to reduce the volume of plastic waste produced. If the French can do it, why can’t we?
