Is it Time to Ban the Plastic Bottle?
Every single second, 20,000 single-use drinking bottles are sold around the world.
Every single second, 20,000 single-use drinking bottles are sold around the world. That is more than a million pieces of non-biodegradable rubbish produced every minute. And as demand grows in developing economies, so will the mountains of waste, with much of it ending up in the ocean.
We learn how the invention of the plastic bottle spawned an industry that has quickly got us hooked. We hear the consequences of our addiction from the man who has dedicated his life to The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. And, with one estimate that by 2050 there will be more plastic in our oceans than fish, we ask if we now need a radical solution. Is it time to ban the plastic bottle?
Presenter: James Fletcher
Producers: Simon Maybin and Sarah Shebbeare
(Photo: A bottle of water sits on the floor inside a recycling facility. Credit: Getty Images)
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Clips
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The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Duration: 02:43
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How we're persuaded to buy water even though it's virtually free
Duration: 01:55
Broadcasts
- Thu 20 Jul 201702:06GMTBBC World Service Online, Americas and the Caribbean, UK DAB/Freeview & West and Central Africa only
- Thu 20 Jul 201703:06GMTBBC World Service East Asia & South Asia only
- Thu 20 Jul 201706:06GMTBBC World Service Australasia & East and Southern Africa only
- Thu 20 Jul 201707:06GMTBBC World Service Europe and the Middle East
- Thu 20 Jul 201713:06GMTBBC World Service Australasia
- Thu 20 Jul 201714:06GMTBBC World Service except Australasia & News Internet
- Thu 20 Jul 201719:06GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa, News Internet & West and Central Africa
- Sat 22 Jul 201723:06GMTBBC World Service except News Internet
- Mon 24 Jul 201703:06GMTBBC World Service Australasia
Podcast
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The Inquiry
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