Greenpeace tells Euronews single-use plastic is to blame for ocean pollution. "We're going to reach a point soon when there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish."
ADVERTISEMENTThe EU's proposed ban on single-use plastics is an issue that environmental organisation Greenpeace has long campaigned for.
Last month the group set oversized plastic bottles and cups afloat in the Mediterranean. The aim was to "make the invisible visible" and get people to pay attention to the problem.
Ahead of the EU announcement, euronews spoke to Captain Peter Willcox aboard the Rainbow Warrior in Singapore
Willcox says it wasn't that long ago that the oceans were free of plastic pollution.
"I remember sailing in Asia 18 years ago and not being able to see plastic in the water. Today, on the trip I just did between Bali and Jakarta, you almost could never look down and not see plastic in the water. Already sea creatures are suffering because they are eating plastic instead of food and are dying as a result."
The only way to stop the situation from getting even worse, Willcox says, is to change our patterns of consumption and waste.
"The main culprit is our use of single use plastic. We’re doing this to ourselves. We have to look at ourselves when we go to blame anybody and it’s something we can make a dramatic difference in changing."
And while the EU is working to tackle the problem, other countries need to follow suit, Willcox says.
"This is a problem shared by every country. Every country is using plastic as a simple easy method of doing whatever they want. And the use of single use plastics has just got to stop everywhere."