Things Start to Go Stale: Plastic Fantastic - Episode 2

Plastic waste has been a global crisis waiting to happen. To date
it's estimated that around 8.3 billion tonnes of waste plastic
exists. That's 25 Empire State Buildings or 1 billion elephants.
Incredibly around half of this has been generated in just the
last 14 years, despite mass production having begun in the 1950s.
Events such as China's recent refusal to take any more "foreign
rubbish" and Sir David Attenborough's graphic portrayal of the
devastation that plastic waste is causing in our oceans, has
prompted political and media discussion like never before. We are
at a critical moment where, if we're to turn the tide on plastic
pollution, it will require science and society to come together
to create real change. But it won't be easy. One major area that
needs an overhaul is recycling. In the UK only 14% of plastic
collected is recycled. We, and the rest of Europe tend to burn
our waste for energy, and plastic has a calorific value similar
to that of coal. But proponents of the circular economy say we
should never consider plastic as waste at all and we should think
of it as 'Buried Sunshine' - a resource that needs conserving -
by reusing and recycling again and again.


Producer: Fiona Roberts


First broadcast on Tuesday 22 May, 2018.