I was lucky enough to be away for some weeks last month in the tropics. To swim in warm Caribbean waters is special to me as I spent a full year over 50 years ago in the country, which is now Belize. It was then British Honduras. Belize has the second longest barrier reef in the world. The coral is still reasonably healthy although global warming has affected it to some extent. Coral starts to die at sea temperatures over 30 degrees centigrade. The other really sad and upsetting thing is pollution, especially by plastic in the sea and on the beaches. I saw the same thing last year in Thailand.

This brings me to my main point. It will take a long time to change people’s filthy habits. Toss your plastic rubbish overboard or out the car window. Problem solved! Some of the plastic waste can take up to one thousand years or more to break down. Other plastics may break down sooner and end up as tiny beads in the ocean. Fish can ingest some of this. Loose plastic bags in the sea can kill turtles that by mistake can eat the bags thinking they are jellyfish.

Ireland should take the lead

To see some glimmer of light at the end of this gloomy tunnel I suggest that Ireland takes a lead as we did with the plastic bag levy. Why could we not legislate to make all plastic items sold here biodegradable? Checking this out further, one finds that the term biodegradable can be meaningless. All plastics will eventually biodegrade but compostable is the better option as this means that the product can be safely composted in about 12 weeks. This is infinitely preferable. So I would urge the incoming Government to legislate for all bags and bottles to be compostable. Just look on your computer for biodegradable and eco-friendly packaging and this will lead you to many interesting sites. This packaging is available here and now in this country, so what are we waiting for?

Waste plastic on farms

Even if you do not have a burning anger about rubbish thrown around, most farmers have been the victims of fly tipping from time to time. Waste plastic could lead to some new industries making packaging from farm products. Already, plastic from silage pits is recycled into long-lasting fence posts and boardwalk materials. Waste plastic could perhaps lead to some new industries, making plastic packaging from some farm products. Clare Spring water is sold in bottles, which are totally compostable. The material used is either corn starch (obviously imported) but also from sugar beet. The process is claimed to reduce green house gasses by 75%. These bottles were launched by the then Minister for the environment in 2010. Therefore all this is not just some far off dream but is just waiting for the new Minister to sign into law. Let us hope that this is not put on the back burner. Looking at the Coca-Cola website I see that they list seven environmental goals. These include water conservation, reducing carbon emissions and using compostable bottles. Their aim is to use up to 30% plant-based materials in plastic bottles by 2020. As these bottles are already in use for water by Clare Spring, this seems to be a very unambitious target for a very successful multinational company.