Prince Charles: I was ignored when I warned of plastic risk
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Each year more than 380 million tons of plastic are produced globally and at least 8 million tons end up in the sea. It is estimated that there is now a 1:2 ratio of plastic to plankton and, left unchecked, plastic will outweigh fish by 2050. Britons use 7.7 billion single-use plastic water bottles a year and fewer than half are recycled, meaning that 16 million bottles are binned every day in the UK.
Earlier this year, the Prince said that although the plastic problem is “extremely grave” and “unbelievably urgent”, he was encouraged that the issue was now on the global agenda and in the public consciousness.
In the Budget this week, Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, announced a new tax on plastics that cannot be recycled while the Government is also consulting on banning plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds. Since the plastic bag charge was introduced in 2015, Britons each use just 25 plastic bags a year compared to the 140 before the charge, which removes six billion bags from circulation each year.
But in the new interview, the Prince said there was still more to do. “If we don’t engage with these issues, we will all become victims,” he added. “Nobody escapes.”
The Prince also warned against allowing robots to replace craftsmen.
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