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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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 2017 02:06GMT麻豆社 World Service Online, Americas and the Caribbean, UK DAB/Freeview & West and Central Africa only
- Thu 20 Jul 2017 03:06GMT麻豆社 World Service East Asia & South Asia only
- Thu 20 Jul 2017 06:06GMT麻豆社 World Service Australasia & East and Southern Africa only
- Thu 20 Jul 2017 07:06GMT麻豆社 World Service Europe and the Middle East
- Thu 20 Jul 2017 13:06GMT麻豆社 World Service Australasia
- Thu 20 Jul 2017 14:06GMT麻豆社 World Service except Australasia & News Internet
- Thu 20 Jul 2017 19:06GMT麻豆社 World Service except East and Southern Africa, News Internet & West and Central Africa
- Sat 22 Jul 2017 23:06GMT麻豆社 World Service except News Internet
- Mon 24 Jul 2017 03:06GMT麻豆社 World Service Australasia
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The Inquiry
Getting beyond the headlines to explore the forces and ideas shaping the world
