From Shelf to the Global South – why our plastic ends up in low-income countries

Life Solved is back for its 12th series – and its 100th episode!

As a special anniversary episode, we invited Chief Presenter at the BBC News Channel, Maryam Moshiri, to host a round-table discussion, exploring why our plastic waste in the Global North often ends up in low-income countries – and the efforts that retailers and governments are making to reduce plastics on the shelves to create a more sustainable future.

The panellists met at the Royal Institute of British Architects in central London and included Esrat Karim, Director and Founder of the Amal Foundation;  Kené Umeasiegbu, Responsible Sourcing Director at Tesco; Dr Cressida Bowyer, Deputy Lead for the University of Portsmouth’s Revolution Plastics initiative; and Dr Marcus Gover, Director of the No Plastic Waste Initiative, the Minderoo Foundation.

We’d love you to be part of the discussion, too. Email your questions on this episode or ideas for future episodes to lifesolved@port.ac.uk.

You can also find out more about this work and other research at the University of Portsmouth website: https://www.port.ac.uk/research/ 

Life Solved is released every Thursday and available on all major podcast platforms.

USEFUL LINKS

The plastic waste ‘loophole’:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/12/loophole-will-let-uk-continue-to-ship-plastic-waste-to-poorer-countries

The world’s poorest at higher risk from floods:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/24/plastic-waste-puts-millions-of-worlds-poorest-at-higher-risk-from-floods

The Amal Foundation: www.amal.org.uk

Packaging & Plastics at Tesco: https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/planet/packaging-and-plastic

The No Plastic Waste Initiative (Minderoo Foundation): https://www.minderoo.org/

Revolution Plastics: https://www.port.ac.uk/research/themes/sustainability-and-the-environment/revolution-plastics

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