More than 40 British companies including major retailers and soft drinks companies on Thursday pledged to eliminate unneccessary plastic packaging as part of an anti-pollution push. The 42 firms, responsible for 80 percent of plastic packaging sold in Britain, have signed up to a pact that aims to tackle plastic pollution over the next seven years through a series of measures.
These include cutting down on single-use plastic packaging, making all plastic packaging reusable or recyclable and stipulating that 30 percent of all plastic packaging include recycled material. Corporate giants such as Coca-Cola, Asda, Procter & Gamble and Marks & Spencer have all signed up the "UK Plastics Pact" amid growing concern over the problem of plastic pollution, particularly in the oceans.
"This requires a whole-scale transformation of the plastics system and can only be achieved by bringing together all links in the chain under a shared commitment to act," said Marcus Gover, head of the sustainability campaign group WRAP, which is leading the project.