Plastic Blossom

At the beginning of an English spring, this sapling should show the first glimpses of new green foliage. Instead, it is shrouded in plastic film, threatened and suffocated.

To the west of this tree is a waste disposal business. Tyres, concrete, cars, washing machines and all kinds of rubbish await their fate. Wind and carelessness ensure that the contents of this yard leak out beyond the perimeter fence. No doubt these sheets of plastic were blown from the yard during a recent storm. Now they have become faux blossoms, sabotaging the process of pollination that ensures the tree’s survival. Plastic is lifeless and inert. It smothers life and vitality.

There are those who deny there is a climate crisis, but no one can deny we have a waste crisis. Waste that is disposed of “correctly” occupies landfills, decaying, leeching chemicals into the soil and water table, a threat for centuries.

So much more is just discarded into the world, bottles in rivers, packets in parks, cigarette butts surrounding office buildings. Most of this waste is manufactured stuff: packaging, wrappers and single-use products.

Make less, waste less.