There are significantly fewer
plastic bags on the seafloor ever since a number of European countries introduced fees on the items, according to a 25-year study from the UK government's Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS).
To combat the growing problem of
plastic pollution in the ocean, the Scottish government plans to introduce legislation to ban the manufacture and sale of plastic-stemmed cotton buds.
According to the UK's Marine Conservation Society, plastic cotton buds, which are often flushed down the toilet and can pass through sewage treatment plants, are consistently listed in the top 10 items found during beach clean-ups and litter surveys.
Soft drinks executives told government officials most shoppers don't care much about the environmental impact of the plastic drinks bottles they buy, according to documents seen by Unearthed.
Coca-Cola, Lucozade Ribena, Danone and Nestle were among those invited to a soft drinks roundtable to discuss the problem of plastic bottle waste and recycling at Defra's headquarters in October.
