FIRST UK POLITICAL PARTY BACKS BAN ON CHEAP POLTSTYRENE BODYBOARDS! 

Green Party pledges support for the Ban Cheap Polystyrene Bodyboard Campaign.

Plastic Free Torridge, Plastic Free North Devon and Keep Britain Tidy’s Ocean Recovery Project are today announcing support for a UK-wide ban on selling cheap polystyrene bodyboards from Jonathan Bartley, Co-Leader, The Green Party.  

Cheap polystyrene bodyboards have blighted coastlines across the world for decades. Annually, hundreds of thousands of low-cost bodyboards are discarded on beaches across the world. Keep Britain Tidy report that 16,000 cheap polystyrene bodyboards ended up discarded on UK beaches every year. These “sub £10” brightly coloured boards, known to break easily often after only one or two uses, are invariably discarded on UK beaches. These 16,000 single-use boards create a large amount of waste in the UK and a huge carbon footprint. These boards, made from a block of standard polystyrene wrapped in brightly printed nylon cloth, are sourced from China, transported thousands of miles only to snap within minutes of use. Polystyrene is fragile and crumbles easily posing danger to sea and shore life alike as animals mistake these small white polystyrene balls for food. Once in the ocean, algae and small organisms grow on each ball adding weight causing the nuggets to sink and present itself as food to fish. The human health threat from polystyrene comes from one of its building blocks Styrene. In 2018, the World Health Organisation reclassified Styrene from a “possible carcinogen” to a “probable carcinogen” – a probable cause of cancer.

The campaign, started in October 2019, has attracted widespread interest from across the United Kingdom with every major UK political party expressing interest in the campaign. The Green Party co-leader is the first UK political leader to formally support the campaign.

"It has been fantastic to see campaigners in North Devon working to get rid of cheap polystyrene bodyboards which fall apart easily and are frequently discarded causing terrible damage and pollution,” commented Jonathan Bartley Co-Leader, The Green Party. “It has been incredible to see the local success of the campaign so far including the announcement that Saunton Beach and the village of Westward Ho! will completely stop the sale of these boards. Plastic Free North Devon, Plastic Free Torridge, Surfers Against Sewage & Keep Britain Tidy's Ocean Recovery Project are now calling for national legislation to end the sale of boards and as co-leader of the Green Party (and occasional surfer) I back the campaign to ban cheap polystyrene bodyboards as a matter of priority.  We are on the verge of another summer with thousands of discarded boards creating plastic pollution in our oceans. I urge everyone to sign the petition at www.bancheapbodyboards.co.uk.”

A Parliamentary Petition has been launched and has attracted over 4,500 signatures in three weeks.  

“There has been considerable interest in the campaign from across the political spectrum”, confirmed Andrew Cross, Campaign Lead, Plastic Free Torridge. “Once national politicians understand what we are trying to achieve they are very willing to help. The awful impact on nature this type of bodyboards causes impresses upon everyone regardless of their political persuasion.’’

“I am very pleased with the leadership endorsement from the Green Party,” stated Robbie Mack, Local Councillor and Green Party activist'. “Having campaigned hard locally to ensure both Barnstaple Town Council and North Devon District Council passed motions of support for the campaign, I am delighted to be supported by Jonathan Bartley too.”  

“It’s fabulous to see the campaign reaching a national audience”, hailed Claire Moodie, CEO, Plastic Free North Devon. “We are humbled by the national support the campaign has received so far.  But to fix this problem we need a national political consensus. Something I hope we can achieve.”

To show support for the campaign visit www.bancheapbodyboards.co.uk to sign the Parliamentary Petition calling for a ban on the sale of cheap polystyrene bodyboards.

For further details and comment, please contact Andrew Cross on 07886854196 or by emailing hello@bancheapbodyboards.co.uk

Anne-Marie Eveleigh