to plastic bottles. most of them used just once and then thrown away, often polluting the environment. the study says the original producers need to take responsibility for that. the future of the plastic waste crisis really sits in the hands ofjust 20 companies who account for more than half of the waste we generate. we need to go after the tap to turn off the tap of fossil fuel plastics, and we need to create plastics from recycled materials. the producers say they are trying to recycle as much plastic as possible and that they re investing in new ways to do that. they say it s not as easy as it looks and that anyway, we all depend on plastic to keep ourselves safe and to keep our food fresh. but pressure is mounting on the companies involved to do more. these rivers are choked with plastic waste and at the moment there s no end in sight to scenes like this.
using the hashtag bbc your questions or by emailing yourquestions@bbc.co. uk. new research suggests more than half of single use plastic items thrown away around the world are made from materials produced by just 20 companies. the authors of the study say firms should take more responsibility for the impact of the waste. our science editor david shukman reports. it all begins with oil pumped from underground, the start of a plastic journey. in refineries and processing plants, the oil is turned into the raw materials for plastic. and the new research finds that of those destined to make single use items, half are produced byjust 20 companies. those ingredients are sold to manufacturers who make everything from plastic cups to plastic bottles. most of them used just once and then thrown away, often polluting the environment. the study says the original
producers need to take responsibility for that. the future of the plastic waste crisis really sits in the hands ofjust 20 companies who account for more than half of the waste we generate. we need to go after the tap to turn off the tap of fossil fuel plastics, and we need to create plastics from recycled materials. the producers say they are trying to recycle as much plastic as possible and that they re investing in new ways to do that. they say it s not as easy as it looks and that anyway, we all depend on plastic to keep ourselves safe and to keep our food fresh. but pressure is mounting on the companies involved to do more. these rivers are choked with plastic waste and at the moment there s no end in sight to scenes like this. david shukman, bbc news. one of europe s biggest gardening projects opens today, after a year long delay.
the authors of the study say the firms should take more responsibility for the harm caused by the waste. our science editor david shukman reports. it all begins with oil pumped from underground, the start of a plasticjourney. in refineries and processing plants, the oil is turned into the raw materials for plastic. and the new research finds that of those destined to make single use items, half are produced by just 20 companies. those ingredients are sold to manufacturers who make everything from plastic cups to plastic bottles. most of them used just once and then thrown away, often polluting the environment. the study says the original producers need to take responsibility for that. the future of the plastic waste crisis really sits in the hands ofjust 20 companies who account for more than half of the waste we generate.
it finds that more than half of all the plastic bottles and bags that are used once and thrown away around the world can be traced to just 20 companies. 0ur science editor david shukman reports. it all begins with oil pumped from underground, the start of a plasticjourney. in refineries and processing plants, the oil is turned into the raw materials for plastic. and the new research finds that of those destined to make single use items, half are produced by just 20 companies. those ingredients are sold to manufacturers who make everything from plastic cups to plastic bottles. most of them used just once and then thrown away, often polluting the environment. the study says the original producers need to take responsibility for that. the future of the plastic waste crisis really sits in the hands ofjust 20 companies who account for more than half of the waste we generate.