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Plastics industry leaders have today launched a campaign to rid the UK's beaches of plastic waste after a poll showed that the public blames tourists and beachgoers - not the industry - for the problem.

A survey of more than 1,000 adults carried out for the Plastics 2020 Challenge by research agency ComRes showed that 38% of the general public blamed beachgoers and tourists for littering Britain's seas and beaches, with only 13% blaming the packaging industry.

The organisations involved in the Plastics 2020 Challenge are hoping that the research and their new campaign will kick off a national debate over the need to clean up the nation's beaches.

They also hope that it will reposition the packaging and plastics industry in the public eye as a key player in solving the problem of marine litter, as opposed to the cause of it.

Marine litter has been one of the key aspects of the national media's concern over plastic packaging and in particular single-use carrier bags.

British Plastics Federation director general Peter Davis, who heads up the Plastics 2020 Challenge, said: "The simple fact is that waste, whether plastic or other, does not belong in the sea. Litter is primarily a result of human neglect and poor waste management and if we all acted responsibly there would be no reason for the large majority of it to be there.

"It is a fundamental and urgent challenge for our global society. As an active and concerned member of this global community, the plastics industry is as keen as any to help resolve the issue of marine litter and start making progress towards a day when it is no longer an issue."

He added that the Plastics 2020 Challenge would be approaching government to discuss its research and the public's responses to it, which are being sought at the scheme's website, www.plastics2020challenge.com.

The Marine Conservation Society today welcomed the research. Pollution programme manager Sue Kinsey said: "While the industry still has a long way to go, something they acknowledge themselves, it is refreshing to see the producers and manufacturers taking a positive approach.

"We look forward to joining the Plastics 2020 Challenge debate on marine litter and hope the industry can live up to its promises to make significant inroads on its environmental impact by 2020."

The marine and beach litter campaign is part of the plastics industry's Plastics 2020 Challenge, which aims to cut the amount of plastics waste going to landfill by doubling the amount that is recycled by 2020.

The Challenge is supported by the British Plastics Federation, PlasticsEurope and the Packaging & Films Association.

Click here for full details of ComRes's research 

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