The UK Shows How Environmental Change Starts on a Government Level

Seaburn Beach in Sunderland, UK.

I often feel frustrated when I try to help the environment on an individual level, because I know that for every product I recycle, a big company out there makes a thousand products that can’t be recycled.

Companies and the government have a lot more influence on the environment than the individual consumer. Society is starting to realize this and the UK is starting to implement change.

“Everyone needs to recycle,” said Eva Clark, a plastic-free activist in the UK. “But if companies stopped using so much plastic then there wouldn’t be as much plastic waste.”

Cities along the coasts of England, like Sunderland in the North East, feel and see the effects of plastic usage in real time. Sunderland Cabinet Member for City Services, Councilor Michael Mordey, noted this change.

“There's been a huge increase in the amount of plastic produced over the last 50 years with a 20 fold increase worldwide,” Mordey said. “You only have to walk along the seafront to see the impact that's having on our beaches.”

Maybe because of this proximity to the ocean, environmental urgency in the country is palpable.

In January of this year, Prime Minister Theresa May pledged to abolish all plastic waste in the UK by 2042. It is an ambitious notion, but the plan was criticized for a lack of urgency and detail. Overall, there wasn’t enough bite in May’s plan according to many environmental groups.

But maybe there are teeth after all: the Independent exclusively reported last week that a source close to the government said a new ‘plastic tax’ would make it too expensive for companies to continue using single-use plastics on a practical level.

This measure, should it be proposed, is similar to other regulations meant to reduce waste For instance, using plastic bags at any large supermarket costs 5 pence. There is also a proposed ban on plastic straws in the country, but many companies have already opted to use paper straws.

What about the US? Recycling and waste is not regulated on such a massive level and the country has not made any sort of plastic free commitment like the UK. But individuals and businesses are still trying, like in Aspen, CO.

On May 23, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that a 20 cent fee on paper bags at two of the city’s supermarkets was not unconstitutional. This could mean more local efforts across the state to start regulating waste.

From what I’ve noticed, the UK is taking a more active role against waste, especially plastic waste. This may be because of its smaller size or the amount of towns influenced by waste, but their government and businesses are taking a more conscious method to help the environment.

Maybe the US will need to start locally, but policies like the UK’s create massive change in a way that doesn’t majorly affect individuals.

“I don’t think it really affects anyone that massively,” Clark said. “Them making the small changes doesn’t really affect anyone’s life because there are alternatives. Everyone gets used to it. They get over it.”