Leonie Cooper AM, Chair of the Environment Committee, said:
“Last Sunday’s episode of the BBC documentary ‘Blue Planet’ showing a pilot whale and her dead new-born baby really brought home the horror of our oceans being poisoned by plastics. The scenes made many more people aware of how our actions can so detrimentally affect our planet.
The London Assembly Environment Committee report ‘Bottled water’, has prompted the Mayor to write to Environment Secretary Michael Gove to request government support for a deposit-return scheme (DRS) pilot in the capital. We commend such initiatives and welcome London being a test-bed to explore the range of options available, in a joint effort to eradicate plastic waste. The Mayor is planning to introduce a budget for this from April – so London is poised to move ahead.
Plastic is difficult to recycle and only 30 per cent of household waste is currently recycled, the rest ends up being burnt, buried or even worse, in our rivers and oceans. We are encouraged by the positive noises made in yesterday’s budget and call on the government to go further – for the sake of our planet.”
Notes to editors
Notes to editors:
- Bottled water
- Leonie Cooper AM, Chair of the Environment Committee, is available for interviews. Please see contact details below.
- As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.
For media enquiries, please contact Sonia Labboun on 020 7983 5769. For out of hours media enquiries, call 020 7983 4000 and ask for the London Assembly duty press officer. Non-media enquiries should be directed to the Public Liaison Unit on 020 7983 4100.