HC Deb 18 January 1971 vol 809 cc503-4
20. Mrs. Butler

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action he is taking to assist the development of self-destroying plastic in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Ridley

I am not contemplating the support of projects associated with a self-destroying or degradable plastic at present. There are serious difficulties about plastics which degrade and I shall need to be satisfied that any such project has a good chance of practical applications.

Mrs. Butler

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that this attitude of Ministers is causing considerable concern because, unless this kind of plastic is developed, plastic itself will become a major pollution problem in the near future? Can he say whether, and, if so, how soon, he is likely to be satisfied about these substances so that he can promote a research and development contract which will enable this project to become commercially viable as soon as possible?

Mr. Ridley

The difficulty is that many foodstuffs are packaged in plastic containers and if they were to degrade before their time it might cause serious pollution to the foodstuffs. There is also the problem that sunlight degradation of plastics is unlikely to affect any plastic except that exposed to sunlight on the top of a refuse tip. There are serious objections to the basic principle underlying this type of research.

Sir C. Taylor

This is a serious problem and I ask my hon. Friend to consider it very carefully because, if he went to sea occasionally, like the Prime Minister, he would see in the sea an enormous number of plastic containers which come out of the sewers and down the rivers into the sea. What does he intend to do about the sea becoming a floating plastic container in the next 10 years?

Mr. Ridley

While agreeing that the sea is full of all sorts of undesirable things, I do not believe that the answer lies in doing research into the degradation of plastics by ultraviolet light in the present state of knowledge of the subject. We have to have regard to the dangers which would arise to those who ate food out of such plastic containers.