Greenpeace is calling on the NZ Government to become the first country in the world to ban single use drink bottles. Its Ban the Bottle petition has more than 30 thousand signatures and comes after last year’s ban on plastic shopping bags.
Plastic bottles and lids are among the top ten pieces of pollution found on surveys of New Zealand beaches.
This plastic also clogs our landfills, getting shipped offshore and incinerated in places like Malaysia, where it harms human health, or it winds up on our coast, causing harm to wildlife like the toroa (albatross) and breaking down into tiny toxic pieces which end up in our food.
“In the sea they break down into tiny pieces called microplastics which are eaten by fish and are rapidly entering the human food chain. We can’t let any more plastic into our seas” says Greenpeace plastics campaigner Holly Dove.
“In New Zealand drinks companies such as Coca Cola sell an estimated one billion plastic bottles every year and the number is climbing. Big corporates like Coca Cola will tell you the problem will be fixed by recycling but recycling just isn’t working” says Dove.
You can sign the petition here.
