Carshalton Primary School’s fight against ocean plastic taken to Parliament

During a Parliamentary debate on the Global Plastic Treaty, Bobby Dean MP described plastic pollution as a “totemic issue” for the next generation, mentioning the “passionate” letters he received form a Year 4 class at the Culvers House Primary School in Wallington.

Bobby said:
“They were at pains to point out that we were not doing enough or moving fast enough. They were quite clear about their demands, and they went into a lot of detail. They told me about their concern for our oceans, for the turtles and fish that are harmed by plastic, and for the future of the planet”.

He found reading the letters “powerful” as it served as a reminder of the duty to act now.

Bobby has also made it his priority in his speech to connect the global issue of plastic waste and pollution to his local community, he added:
“I do not have oceans anywhere near my London constituency, but I have a beautiful chalk stream that runs all the way through it. People see the litter and they care about it, and they see the plastic damage in particular. We have introduced new monitoring systems to understand the damage that some of these microplastics can do. People are incredibly proud of their local surroundings, and it is not too big a step for them to think about the oceans across the world when they are thinking about their local area.”

The Global Plastics Treaty aims to end plastic pollution by 2040 through a circular economy, where all plastics are responsibly managed through its lifecycle: through production, use and end-of-life. 

As of now, more than 100 countries are in support of a legally binding global target to cut global plastic production, and talks are being held in Geneva currently.

The Liberal Democrats have been “instrumental in the campaign to finalise the treaty”, said Wera Hobhouse, the Liberal Democrat MP for Bath.