Selfridges bans plastic bottles from sale on environmental grounds
Department store chain Selfridges has imposed an outright ban on the sale of all disposable plastic bottles as it seeks to play its part in reducing the stream of flotsam and jetsam into the world’s oceans.
The move is expected to result in 400,000 less single-use water bottles being thrown away each year by equipping its restaurants and food halls with water fountains for shoppers to fill up their own reusable containers.
Anyone wishing to buy packaged water will be offered glass and bottles and cartons instead as the retailer seeks to further minimise its plastics footprint following the introduction of a 5p plastic bag levy.
Heather Koldewey, head of the Zoological Society of London’s global conservation programmes, said: “There is nowhere in the world’s oceans that has been sampled that doesn’t have plastic in it, from the deepest seas to the most remote islands. What’s frightening about that is that [common types of] plastic were only invented in the 1950s and have had a massive global impact in a very short period.”
A spokesperson from the Natural Hydration Council said: "Bottled water represents approximately 18% of the packaged soft drinks market and has the lowest environmental impact of all soft drinks. All plastic bottles are 100 per cent recyclable and given the health benefits of choosing a drink with no calories or sugar; all water, whether tap, still or sparkling should be encouraged."
Plastic detritus is a growing problem in the world’s oceans with around 13m tonnes of the waste estimated to enter the marine environment every year. In Britain alone some 13bn plastic bottles are produced annually with only around half being recycled.