The BPF’s Director General has written to the Secretary of State for Education, Nicky Morgan, asking her to review the guidelines available to head teachers in order to assure the balance in information offered to school children about plastics materials and products.
Philip Law said he was particularly alarmed that examples are coming to light of campaigning organisations seeking access to schools and winning support for proposed ‘No Plastics Days’.
“In some cases, the proponents of these initiatives might be well intentioned and open to education themselves. Others might be simply misinformed,” said Law. “As a several point, head teachers should ensure that any information given to schoolchildren is whiter than white.”
BPF
Law is concerned that social issues such as marine littering are affecting the way that plastics are portrayed in schools
Law said that so-called ‘No Plastics Days’ could backfire as the realisation sinks in that society is wholly dependent on the benefits of plastics in packaging, with the initiatives often based on the social issue of littering within oceans and rivers.
The BPF says independent endorsement for plastics emerged from work commissioned by its Rigid Plastics Packaging Group and carried out by YouGov earlier this year aiming to understand UK consumer trends in packaging. Of the 2157 adults surveyed, 43 percent said they felt that using a plastic material in the nursery would be safer and more practical than any other material.
“Enabling schools to stage balanced fora where both opinions can be put forward and children have the freedom to form their own individual point of view is something which should be vehemently encouraged,” said Law.