Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Plastic Use

Wednesday 29 January 2020 · 5 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 4 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Department is providing expertise and funding for pilot projects in Uganda and Ghana to improve recycling rates and waste collection.
  • Government committed 500 million to the Blue Planet Fund to help developing countries manage their marine environment.
  • Department is working with businesses in Uganda to improve waste management and increase recycling.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Mark Jenkinson
Foreign Affairs Environment
Context

The question arises from the need to address plastic waste in developing nations.

Question

What steps his Department is taking to tackle plastic use in developing countries?

Answer from Alok Sharma

My Department is providing expertise and funding innovative pilot projects in Uganda and Ghana to improve recycling rates and waste collection. The focus areas include fisheries, pollution including plastic pollution, climate change and marine protected areas.

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Q2 Edward Timpson Con
Climate Environment
Context

The question addresses a statistic that plastic pieces will outnumber fish in the sea by 2020.

Question

Given that 2020 is set to become the first year in which the pieces of plastic in our seas outnumber fish, will the Secretary of State update the House on the Government's plans for the UK to play its part in tackling that shocking statistic by means of, for instance, their new Blue Planet fund?

Answer from Alok Sharma

The Government have committed £500 million to the Blue Planet Fund to help developing countries manage their marine environment. The fund will run from April next year, focusing on fisheries, pollution including plastic pollution, climate change and marine protected areas for five years.

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Q3 Mark Jenkinson
Climate Environment
Context

Young students in Workington have written a book about the impact of plastic on marine life, particularly whales.

Question

In my constituency, people care about the future of our seas and oceans. Young students at Ashfield Infant and Nursery School, Holme St Cuthbert School and St Michael's Nursery and Infant School have written a book about Driggsby, the young fin whale who sadly died on a Cumbrian beach, a victim of plastic poisoning. What is the Department doing to rid the world's oceans of plastic waste?

Answer from Alok Sharma

About 70% of the litter in the ocean is plastic, and the Government recognise the need for action through our joint leadership with Vanuatu of the Commonwealth Clean Ocean Alliance. We are supporting technical assistance for countries committed to tackling marine pollution.

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Q4 Chris Elmore Lab Bridgend
Foreign Affairs Environment
Context

93% of waste in the poorest countries is burnt or discarded on roads, open land or waterways.

Question

In the poorest countries, 93% of waste is burnt or discarded on roads or open land or in waterways. Will the Secretary of State expand on his answer to the first question, and tell us what he is doing to develop a system of improved waste collection while also encouraging recycling in many of those countries?

Answer from Alok Sharma

In Uganda and Ghana, my Department is providing support for pilot projects. We are working with businesses to improve waste management and increase recycling. In Uganda, we are working with the Kampala plastics recycling partnership.

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Q5 Alan Brown SNP
Climate Environment
Context

Most plastics in the seas come from abandoned fishing gear and nets.

Question

The Dutch non-governmental organisation The Ocean Cleanup has discovered that most plastics in the seas come from abandoned fishing gear and nets. Does the Secretary of State agree that assisting fishermen in developing countries is one way to eliminate that waste?

Answer from Alok Sharma

I have talked about the Commonwealth Clean Ocean Alliance, but at the 2019 United Nations General Assembly the Prime Minister announced the global ocean alliance of countries which aims to protect at least 30% of the global ocean within marine protected areas by 2030.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Agreement on assisting fishermen in developing countries

How: Talks About Other Initiatives

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