PLASTICS PERIL PLEA

Theresa May tells China’s President Xi they have a ‘collective responsibility’ to control plastic pollution

Steve Hawkes
Deputy Political Editor
China

Published: 0:03, 2 Feb 2018
Updated: 5:33, 3 Feb 2018

Seven of the world's most plastic polluted rivers flow through China

THERESA May told China’s President Xi they had a “collective responsibility” to tackle spiralling plastic pollution.

Meeting in Beijing, the PM said the two nations had to act “on behalf of future generations”.

Mrs May has told President Xi that tackling plastic pollution is a 'collective responsibility' — Mrs May has told President Xi that tackling plastic pollution is a 'collective responsibility'Credit: Getty - Contributor

It came as she presented Xi Jinping with a box set of hit nature series Blue Planet II and a personal note from Sir David Attenborough- as revealed yesterday.

China accounts for a quarter of the total global plastic production.

Seven of the most plastic polluted rivers in the world pass through the country.

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The PM has told China's leader they both need to take responsibility to control plastic pollution — The PM has told China's leader they both need to take responsibility to control plastic pollutionCredit: Alamy Live News

Seven of the world's most plastic polluted rivers flow through China — Seven of the world's most plastic polluted rivers flow through ChinaCredit: Getty - Contributor

President Xi has said that a lot of work is already being to done to tackle the issue — President Xi has said that a lot of work is already being to done to tackle the issueCredit: AFP or licensors

Mrs May gave China's president a box set of Blue Planet II that included a personal note from Sir David Attenborough — Mrs May gave China's president a box set of Blue Planet II that included a personal note from Sir David AttenboroughCredit: Getty - Contributor

The London Zoological Society is currently helping the Chinese remove tiny particles of plastic from the Yangtze.

The mammoth Yangtze carries 1.5 million tonnes of plastic into the ocean every year.

President Xi spoke of the work that has already been done in China to try and clean up the air in polluted cities such as Beijing and Shanghai.

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