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LGA responds to WWF report on plastic use
Cllr Martin Tett, Local Government Association Environment spokesman, responded to the WWF’s report revealing that plastic use in the UK will rise by a fifth without further action
“Councils have made significant progress in increasing levels of recycling. As a nation we need to go much further, much faster – it is essential that we protect our environment by tackling this issue at the root cause, by cutting unrecyclable material out of the market in the first place.
“We have long called for industry to step up and show more responsibility and councils are keen to get on and tackle it – we want producers to sit down with us and discuss how the design and recycling of packaging can be improved so that they impact on the environment as little as possible.
“As one example, coffee cups can reduce overall recycling rates and create huge costs for councils, as they are made of paper coated with a plastic layer which can contaminate other materials put out for recycling.
“Whilst we are clear that this is something that must be addressed by industry, and any associated costs should not be passed onto consumers, we are keen to work with industry to tackle this and would urge them to help us to create a better environment for residents and consumers alike.”
View report here
