The plastics suffocating life within our oceansPosted on December 12, 2017 by DrRossH in Plastic Waste News
Companies worldwide need incentives to find less harmful substitutes
Barring a technological breakthrough, any large company that makes the first move risks losing money or market share. This is a situation where regulators need to step in. A tax on single-use plastic — although it would need to be carefully structured — could give companies the incentives to use more expensive, but less damaging, materials and invest in research to find alternatives. Policymakers can also do more to change public behaviour. Recycling rates are much higher in countries that make it mandatory to run deposit return schemes — where consumers pay a small sum that can be recovered when they return a plastic bottle.
These are small easy changes to be made with some large impacts but industry wont’ do it unless they get paid more or legislated. So we need our governments to catch up with the world and support action to reduce this plastic waste problem.