A film highlighting the plastic pollution crisis and the impact it is happening has shocked and angered viewers.

Plastic Free Bridport organised a screening of the film, The Story of Plastic, between February 17 and 23, which culminated with a Q&A with audience members through Zoom.

During the screening, the Plastic Free Bridport team received numerous emails from people who had seen the film, thanking them for making it available and expressing their shock and anger at the scale of the problem.

Plastic Free Bridport was joined by West Dorset MP Chris Loder, Camilla Zerr the plastics campaign lead for Friends of the Earth, Polly Benfield and Grenville Barr of Plastic Free Lyme Regis and a number of interested members of the public.

Chris Loder updated those present on the progress of the Plastic Pollution Bill and his proposed amendment to the Environment Bill currently being worked on as they progress through parliament.

He also spoke frankly about his personal position on single use plastics and his hopes for more progress being made in working towards eliminating them particularly in the food industry. He was equally forthright in expressing his horror at the fact that the UK is still exporting its waste plastic to developing countries.

He also went on to describe how plastic packaging and the dominance of supermarkets go hand in hand - helps to stack. Organise, keep clean and allows price checking.

Camilla Zerr gave and update on the work being done by Friends of the Earth to raise the profile of the issues surrounding plastics, in particular single use. She was able to report that some significant progress is being made on the United Nations Treaty on plastic pollution that will set legally binding targets.

Polly Benfield and Grenville Barr brought those present up-to-date with the work that Plastic Free Lyme Regis has been doing since it achieved plastic free status in 2018. It sets a high bar for the Bridport team to try and emulate.

A general discussion followed, which was chaired by Bridport mayor, Councillor Ian Bark.

He said: "It was clear from the discussion that there was universal horror and anger at the role multinational oil companies are playing in the rise of plastic pollution around the world. Their production of these throwaway items results in huge profits for them and appalling levels of pollution for us.

"It is time for them to step up and be accountable for the damage they are doing.

"The tremendous increase in plastic is not particularly driven by customer demand, but is a deliberate corporate choice of fossil fuel companies, in collaboration with plastic packaging companies, to compensate for a slowing demand for oil and coal.

"The film takes a sweeping look at the man-made crisis of plastic pollution and the worldwide effect it has on the health of our planet.

"Spanning three continents, the film illustrates the ongoing catastrophe - fields full of garbage, veritable mountains of trash, rivers and seas clogged with waste, and skies choked with the poisonous emissions from plastic production.

"The film distils a complex problem that is increasingly affecting the planet and all of us."

For those who have not seen the film, Plastic Free Bridport - possibly in co-operation with Plastic Free Lyme Regis - will be showing it again later this year. If you want to be included in a future showing, email [email protected] and you will be contacted about when it will be shown and how to view it.

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