UK ports share efforts to combat plastic

Ports are busy working on land and in the water to reduce plastic waste across a wide range of activities. These include joining national campaigns such as Operation Clean Sweep, focused on preventing plastic pellet loss to the marine environment.

Tim Morris, CEO of the UK Major Ports Group, said: “Major port operators are committed to high sustainability standards. Ports all around the UK are taking a huge range of practical actions to combat the scourge of plastic waste entering rivers and seas. We all have a role in reducing plastic waste and ports, despite not being significant producers of plastic waste themselves, are playing their part.”

Other activities include working with others locally, both through local campaigns such as the Port of London Authority’s Cleaner Thames Campaign and working in partnership with local NGOs like Plastic Free Felixstowe; investing in equipment to capture waste in the water such as Water Witches, Seabins and networks of driftwood and floating waste collectors; and reducing and removing single use plastics as part of company procurement decisions in areas such as work wear and consumables.

Ports commitment to reducing marine plastic waste doesn’t end with prevention and collection. Multiple port operators have full life cycle initiatives – such as returning collected plastic waste to manufacturers to remake into shampoo bottles. Their efforts to reduce waste are not limited to plastics. Ports have strategies and plans to combat waste more generally, making progress on targets to reduce waste to landfill.