Thread by @geddiejdk

I’ve just arrived in Nairobi, Kenya to report on UN negotiations for a treaty to tackle the environmental scourge of single-use plastics. To illustrate the problem at hand, I collected all the throwaway plastic I used on my flight here. A thread 1/9

After I boarded my 8hr flight from London, I first received blankets and headphones all wrapped in plastic bags. 2/9

Then came dinner: food in plastic containers covered in plastic film, plastic cutlery in plastic packaging and drinks in plastic bottles served in disposable plastic cups. 3/9

This one really struck me - a single bread roll covered in plastic. 4/9

Some passengers had a late night snack of nuts in little plastic-lined foil bags washed down with water in plastic bottles. I dozed off but woke in time for breakfast: pastries in plastic. 5/9

I will try to recycle what I can of this garbage. But less than 10% of plastic is actually recycled, with the rest buried, burned, or polluting the environment. That’s why 3 in 4 people now want single-use plastics banned, a survey this week found. 6/9
reuters.com/business/envir…

But such limits on plastic face strong resistance from powerful oil and chemical companies whose financial future is tied to the production of single-use plastic. Read more about that in our latest investigation 7/9 reuters.com/business/susta…

These #plastictreaty negotiations have been billed as the most important environmental talks since the Paris Agreement. It will become clear over the next few days at #UNEA5 how far countries are prepared to go to collectively tackle this problem. 8/9 reuters.com/business/susta…

I’ve reached out to Kenya Airways for comment on their plastics and recycling policies and will update when/if I get a response. 9/9