Campaigners call for Government action over plastic sachets

An open letter has urged global business leaders and politicians to work together urgently to end the “curse”​ of the plastic sachet.

Business leaders and global campaigners supporting the calls include Iceland Foods’ managing director Richard Walker, Jonathon Porritt CBE and the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Ocean Peter Thomson.  

The letter also marks the launch of Sack The Sachet, a new initiative from campaign group A Plastic Planet.

Environment bill​

The call comes as the Environment Bill gets its second reading in Parliament today (26 February), which campaigners claim fails to take action over plastic sachets.  

The campaigners are calling on the Government to close the “legal loophole​” which means plastic sachets, such as those used in single doses of product including ketchup, can be sold in vast quantities without any restrictions.

Speaking ahead of the launch of Sack The Sachet, A Plastic Planet co-founder Sian Sutherland said: “In recent years, governments and business have gone all out to enforce a ban on plastic straws, cotton buds and even bags. ​

“And yet the plastic sachet, the ultimate symbol of our grab-and-go, convenience-addicted lifestyle, has been virtually invisible to all. The result? Our earth is saturated with these uncollectable, unrecyclable, contaminated, valueless little packets.​

Legal loophole ​

“It’s time to close the legal loophole. Now, more than ever before, we have to Sack The Sachet.”​

The letter has also attracted cross-party political support from 27 Parliamentarians, including Conservative Sir Desmond Swayne and Labour peer and former Football Association chairman Lord Triesman.

A raft of experts have also backed the letter, including Dr Anna Bogush, associate professor for the Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience at the University of Coventry, and Dr David Aldridge from the Education Department at Brunel University London.