Issue - meetings

It was moved by Councillor Roscoe and seconded by Councillor Moncur and unanimously:

RESOLVED:

This Council notes that the borough of Sefton has approximately 22 miles of coastline, which is enjoyed by residents and visitors and plays host to some of the most rare plants and animals in the country.

Around 70 per cent of all the litter in the oceans is made of plastic. Plastic pollution in the sea is a symptom of a more systemic issue originating on land and related to the design, the use and the disposal of plastic items, particularly single-use plastic. To reduce it, a key priority is to focus on interventions and stewardship to help reduce the quantity of plastic waste generated by society and the associated release of litter to the ocean.

It is estimated that about 275 million tons of plastic waste are being generated each year in 192 countries around the world, with between 4.8 million and 12.7 million tons being washed or dumped into the sea. If we do not change our behaviour, a threefold increase is predicted in the amount of plastics in the ocean between 2015 and 2025 (1)

Council believes that the reduction of single-use plastic would benefit health in Sefton, reduce waste and ultimately help protect our coast.

Council therefore directs Officers to report to Cabinet on:

1.          Development of a robust strategy to ensure Sefton Council works towards phasing out single-use plastics (SUP) in its activities and buildings within the next two years;

2.     Work with partners and other large institutions to encourage them in developing similar strategies to reduce SUP: and

3.     An ongoing Communications plan to inform the public of Sefton of the reasons for phasing out SUP and encourage them to switch to alternatives.

(1)    Jambeck, J. R., Geyer, R., Wilcox, C., Siegler, T. R., Perryman, M., Andrady, A., Narayan, R. & Law, K. L. 2015 Plastic Waste Inputs from Land into the Ocean. Science 347, 768-771. Law, K. L. & Thompson, R. C. (2014) Microplastics in the seas. Science 345, 144–145.