THE BISHOP of Penrith has joined calls for the prime minister to set legally binding targets to cut plastic pollution.
The rt revd Dr Emma Ineson has joined businesses, MPs, faith leaders, academics and campaigning organisations to call on the Government to introduce legally binding targets to stem the growing tide of waste that threatens wildlife worldwide.
The group say the plastic problem "appears to have been exacerbated by the pandemic", with, for example, huge numbers of disposable face masks found on more than two thirds of recent Marine Conservation Society beach clean ups. 
MPs debated the Environment Bill in Parliament yesterday and an amendment, calling for targets to be included in the bill, has been tabled by MP Chris Loder.
In their letter to Boris Johnson the group says that while Government initiatives such as the ban on plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds, have had positive impacts, more action is needed.
One of those pushing for the amendment is Friends of the Earth plastic campaigner Camilla Zerr who said: “Boris Johnson has a golden opportunity to get to grips with the crisis by ensuring that the bill contains legally-binding targets for reducing the amount of plastic waste polluting our planet every year
“The government has promised to be a world leader on the environment and set a gold standard for cutting down on plastic waste. Now it’s time to deliver.”  
Richard Walker, managing director of Iceland supermarkets, also a signatory to the letter, said: “In order to tackle the sheer scale of plastic making its way into the environment we need to see businesses and policy makers working together.
Amy Slack, head of campaigns and policy at Surfers Against Sewage said: “The pandemic has also highlighted the sheer amount of plastic pollution that enters into the environment."