What plastics would you ban / put a charge on next?

[theremaybetulipsahead]

If you were the PM what 'easy wins' with regard to plastics would you implement?

Mine would be:

• Ban non-biodegradable nappies.
• Minimum charge to single-use plastic coffee cups (similar to plastic bag charge).
• Companies selling bottled water must also supply drinking water / water fountains. Add charge to bottled water.

Babies just woken up so will have to stop there...

Vapes

I would want to see a reduction on the plastic we use for cleaning products and make it so we have to buy refills as much as possible. And change what laundry detergents are packaged in for the main as I am not referring to the ones in cardboard boxes

Also the same with things like shampoo and shower gel etc.

When you look at all those things on the shelves it is just a mind-blowing amount of plastic in one shop.

Also cheap plastic toys.

And food packaging.

None of that really makes a big dent. The main problem is fishing nets. I'd ban fishing. And all animal agriculture.

Regarding cleaning products -in particular the pods for laundry are damaging to aquatic life. So best to avoid buying these.

Therecare more refill options now for other products such as hand wash and shower gel.

Toilet roll/ kitchen roll packaged in paper is much better for the environment.

I despair when I see empty building at night with all their lights on. Incredibly wasteful.

Biros, why not sell pens you can get refill for, take the old inner to trade in, it can be recycled.

Vape juice, when I first started vaping all juice came in glass bottles with a dropper, now I have multiple plastic bottles of juice & nic shots.

Tablet blister packs, put tablets back in glass bottles which can be recycled.

Plastic bottles, encourage people to use metal & glass drinks bottles, I drink a litre of soda water a day, I'm buying a SodaStream to cut down on plastic bottle use, put cordial in glass bottles. I've emptied my inside bottle bin today, 55 empty plastic bottles.

Make reusable incontinence wear cheaper, I want to swap from disposable to reusable incontinence pants but it will cost me a minimum of £350 which I haven't got.

I'd want to see a huge crack down on deceptive packaging, especially for children's toys. I'm so tired of buying huge boxes for tiny items. Why do toy companies zip tie and elastic band every single part of a toy so it takes forever to open but light bulbs come in a thin flimsy box.

The EU are testing biodegradable fishing nets atm.

It's not what you asked but on a side note I would ban people from paving over front gardens for parking which is terrible for the environment too.

If we're going for other things, I'd ban private jets.

Plastic milk bottles

How about rather than banning them all flights have to pay a very large tax, that is divided by the number of people on the flight.

Shrink film.

Online clothes shopping arriving with each single item in its own plastic bag on its own plastic hanger.

We did this as our road has parking restrictions on it and were having to park two streets away sometimes, quite stressful with young children.

Agreed.

Food packaging. So much of it is completely unnecessary.

Plastic grass.

A poisonous solution to a non-existent problem.

Definitely.

Can't work out how to add to thread without quoting but also plastic toothbrushes and the packaging they come in.

Plastic packaging, unless it's something that's supplied sterile. There's absolutely no need.

There is so much we could reduce.
I see chefs on TV, Masterchef etc putting things in plastic to cook in a water bath. That always annoys me. Cling film, plastic food packaging, excessive plastic packaging on anything.
More of the bigger companies need to have refill schemes for their cleaning products.
Agree with the fishing nets and all the waste from the fishing industry.

Are you being goady?

I would bring back plastic bags. Maybe put a charge on paper bags to encourage supermarkets to make the change back. Plastic carrier bags have the lowest carbon footprint if reused even once, and as they don't disintegrate when wet, they are 80% of the time reused.

Another vote for plastic grass, though for biodiversity reasons, rather than specifically because of the plastic. The insects that live in our lawns are an important part of our food chain. No insects leads to no birds, no hedgehogs etc.

The government needs to throw funding at it too via incentives, tax breaks, subsidy schemes, etc. because its a fact that being environmentally-conscious/friendly costs money.

For example, I get milk delivered for DH and the DC. I pay £12 a week for 12 pints in glass bottles which are delivered by a milkman three times a week. I could go to a supermarket and get three four-pint cartons for less than £6.

Toothbrushes, a plastic wrapped plastic one can be had for £1 or less. A bamboo one in a cardboard box is £2.50+.

Im listening to the radio about a government pledge to make sure we all live within 15 minutes of "a green space" and wondering if green plastic will be counted. 🧐

Plus, they'll be here virtually forever.

Who was that at?

The charge on plastic bags is the entire reason they are being reused as most are now taking them with them when they go shopping.

Another vote for disposable vapes. Massively wasteful and serve no purpose.