Environmental Weekly News Round Up - 6 October 2023
“Eco-Initiative or Drop in the Ocean? Delving into the UK’s Single Use Plastics Ban”
On 1st October the UK government’s proposed ban on certain types of single use plastics came into force with no business whether it be a retailer, takeaway, food vendor or part of the hospitality industry being able to sell single-use plastic cutlery, balloon sticks, polystyrene cups and food containers in England. However takeaways will still be able to use containers, trays and wraps if they are pre-filled or filled at the point of sale and shelf-ready pre-packaged food items are also excluded from the rules.
Businesses could find themselves facing criminal charges and fines if they are found to be in breach of the rules governing the use of certain types of single practice. Local Authorities will be responsible for enforcement of the rules and will carry out inspections to ensure that businesses are complying. Inspectors will have the power to visit a shop or store, make test purchases, speak to staff and ask to see records. If a Local Authority inspector finds a breach of the rules has taken place then the Local Authority can issue fines and can order the business to cover the cost of the investigation. Complaints about a business believed to be in breach of the rules can be made to Trading Standards. An acceptable defence to a finding that the rules have been breached is that a business did everything it reasonably could to avoid breaking any rules.
Many argue that the ban has been a long time in the making with England alone using an estimated 2.7 billion pieces of mostly plastic single-use cutlery and 721 million single-use plates every year. This equates to around 37 pieces of cutlery and 18 plates per person and just 10% of these items are recycled and the rest taking 100’s of years to degrade.
City to Sea one of the charities that has been campaigning for the ban pointed out that UK government measures introduced for England are two years after similar rules were mandated across the European Union with Scotland having moved faster than the UK government and the ban soon to come into force in Wales to include more items like single use plastic bags.
Whilst environmentalists welcome the ban and view as it as a step in the right direction many believe that broader systemic changes are needed to genuinely tackle the plastics crisis. While there are obviously environmental benefits from banning specific single use plastic items the reality is that it addresses only a fraction of the overall plastic pollution issue with some arguing that there needs to be a stronger emphasis on reducing plastic pollution at the source. This means working with industries and manufacturers to develop and implement alternatives to plastics. Public awareness and engagement are also critical for the success of reducing the use of plastics. Changing consumer behaviour and mindsets can lead to more sustainable practices even outside of regulated items and with predictions pointing towards a staggering 66% surge in the global production of virgin plastic through to 2040 without policy intervention the urgency to address the plastic pollution crisis has never been more acute. Decisive action against plastic pollution should be at the forefront of global policy strategies.
Net zero U-turn gets legally challenged
Last month, Rishi Sunak decided to go backwards in the government’s net zero strategy, which will directly impact on the government’s ability to meet the national environmental targets. Claire Petricca-Riding made an excellent summary of the risks that this U-turn might entail (available here).
While Sunak’s decision was generally frowned upon, it had not been legally challenged. This changed this week as Chris Packham, television presenter and environmental campaigner, launched a legal action on 4 October against Sunak over his U-turn.
Packham’s legal action has a limited scope, as it is only challenging Sunak’s decision to reverse the policies relating to:
- The ban of new petrol and diesel vehicles, which was delayed from 2030 to 2035, and
- The ban on installing oil and gas boilers, and new coal heating for off-grid homes, which was delayed from 2026 to 2035.
The Pre-Action protocol letter challenges the legality of Sunak’s decision as it considers that the prime minister does not have the power to change the already set timeline for meeting the net zero goals. The letter also challenges Sunak’s statement that the current rout to net zero presented unacceptable costs “that no one was ever told about”, because actually the evaluation of financial impacts was required by law and the Treasury was part of the process for setting the sixth carbon budged while Sunak was chancellor. It is also mentioned that this change in policies was taken without any public consultation.
This would mark the start of a judicial review process against Sunak’s net zero U-turn.
Water companies seeking to raise bills to fund infrastructure improvements
Water companies in England and Wales have announced plans to increase bills by £156 a year by 2030 to pay for upgrades to infrastructure. This comes less than a week after the regulator, Ofwat, announced £114 million should be returned to customers by the water companies as they failed to meet performance targets (as covered in last week’s round-up).
Ofwat’s Water Company Performance Report for 2022-23 also found that twelve companies had underspent their water enhancement allowances for 2020-23 and nine had underspent their wastewater enhancement allowances. The report says the underspend “means companies are behind on their investment programmes. We expect companies to get their enhancement programmes on track and deliver the funded improvements.”
For these bill increase proposals, each water company will be required to submit individual investment plans for 2025-2030 to Ofwat. These will then be scrutinised, and a series of public meetings held with Ofwat to allow customers to have their say. Bill rises will vary across England and Wales and £156 represents an average increase, being much higher for some customers; Southern Water propose to increase their customer bills by £262 per annum.
Water UK has said the proposals will help secure “the most ambitious modernisation of sewers since the Victorian era” and fix raw sewage leaks, build new reservoirs, and reduce leaks. However, campaigners have heavily criticised the proposals saying the increase would in effect make customers pay twice for infrastructure improvements that are already factored into billing and should have already been carried out.
Draft responses to each water company’s proposal are expected to be published by Ofwat in May 2024 and a final decision made by the end of the year.
Toxic Road Runoff Outfalls are Polluting England’s Rivers. Is it Time for Tougher Regulations?
Around 18,000 outfalls, such as pipes, and around 7,700 soakaways managed by National Highways are discharging water that is potentially contaminated with heavy metals, hydrocarbons, microplastics and other chemicals from the main road network into rivers and land.
No regulator is currently monitoring the scale of the impact this is having on wildlife, and public health.
Transport and urban pollution currently account for 18% of England’s water bodies failing to meet good ecological standards. However, highway outfalls are not regulated, which means there is no monitoring of the effect this is having in place. Last month, National Highways reported it had assessed discharge points, and found 1,236 outfalls and soakaways had a potential high risk of pollution.
“The Environment Agency has the power to bring highways drains and discharges under environmental permitting if they involve or discharge poisonous, noxious, or polluting matter to inland freshwaters, costal waters or relevant territorial waters” stated Guy Linley-Adams a solicitor at the Charity Wildfish. However, National Highways indicated that they do not monitor run off, because the results can vary, and it is not practical or good value.
This, however, makes it difficult to understand the scale of pollution.
There are indications however that this is a large issue. There are 24 outfalls surrounding the river Kennet, and official data shows that the river has a high amount of heavy metal and hydrocarbon, which are associated with road run off. This is a problem because the pollutants affect populations of species within the rivers, and they also contain toxic metals which affect the health and development of the fish.
Thames 21 Charity have a project on road runoff. They are seeking to quantify the pollution from roads entering rivers, so that they can develop a ‘heat map’ where green infrastructure such as sustainable urban drainage should be located.
However, there are arguments for a more regulated answer. Waters are becoming a problem for wildlife, as well as the general health of the public. The Environment Agency are not currently issuing permits, or asking for any data, therefore it may be time for a tougher approach.
Triathlon competitors sick after swimming in Hever Castle’s lake
Over 30 participants of this year’s Hever Castle Triathlon have reported falling sick after swimming in the lake. The organisers, Castle Race Series, have assured the public that rigorous tests were run prior to the event which indicated that the water was safe to swim in. They also published the water quality results certificate on their website.
However, this is not the only incident that has occurred this summer involving competitors falling sick after swimming in polluted waters. Earlier this summer, at least 57 people fell ill with diarrhoea and vomiting after a World Triathlon Championship Series event in Sunderland. This recent two-day event in Kent, which took place the 23rd and 24th of September, has revived the conversation concerning England’s water quality.
The UK is regularly ranked as one of the worst countries in Europe for water quality. Indeed, the environmental performance of the UK’s water and sewage companies fell to the lowest level on record in 2021. In 2022, there were over 389,000 discharges of untreated sewage into UK rivers, amounting to more than 2.4 million hours of pollution. The government’s “State of the water environment in England: data summary” (updated earlier this year) shows that only 14% of the UK’s rivers (and 14% of UK’s lakes) are classed as ‘good overall’, but that none achieved good status for chemicals. In fact, 75% of UK rivers pose a serious risk to human health.
Many groups have been set up and fighting to improve these figures, notably “End Sewage Pollution” - a community-lead group campaigning against sewage pollution of UK rivers, and charity “Surfers Against Sewage”. It is clear that action must be taken to ensure the situation does not become more severe.
