Plastic pollution: Fairbourne child's bid to ban toys in magazines

A 10-year-old girl is campaigning to stop plastic toys being included in children's magazines amid concerns about the impact on climate change.

Skye, from Gwynedd, launched a petition after becoming fed up with being sent "cheap plastic rubbish" with her favourite magazine.

She was concerned the toys were creating a large carbon footprint and ending up in landfill.

The Welsh Government said her bid could help Wales to become waste free.

It comes after Burger King stopped including plastic toys in their children's meals and McDonald's gave children options of books with Happy Meals, after a campaign by two sisters.

Skye, who often litter picks in her village near Fairbourne, wrote to publishers to urge them to stop using single-use plastic in one of her favourite magazines Horrible Histories.

"It's utter rubbish," she said, "it not only comes in a plastic bag, it has plastic blister packaging and there are the free gifts."

Skye said many of the plastic toys, were "pointless", including a skeleton pen, which "you can't even write with", a rubber tongue, brain, rats, maggots or slime that breaks.

In a response to her letter, Kennedy Publishers, said they were "working very hard to make their magazines environmentally friendly", and the magazines were made from paper from sustainable forests, while the packaging was made using recyclable materials.

It said the plastic toys were recyclable in "some areas" and were an important part of the magazine and not intended for single use.

But Skye said she would like to see the toys removed altogether and all magazines made from paper, unwrapped or wrapped in paper, to reduce excess packaging.

"If you saw it in a toy department you wouldn't buy it," said Skye, who keeps the toys in a box to show people how many she is sent, rather than throwing them away.

"I've got gazillions of fake teeth and rubber maggots... they're not good for playing a prank, they don't look real. I've had three pots of slime and it's rubbish, it breaks."

Peppa Pig, LOL Dolls, My Little Pony and Mr Men are just some of the children's magazines which often come with free plastic toys.

"These toys will be made in China, wrapped in plastic, put on a pallet wrapped in more plastic, sent across the world, unwrapped, stuck on a magazine and covered in more plastic, and then shipped to houses," Skye said.

"The carbon footprint is big and you are putting it straight in the bin to pollute the planet."

Skye's father Dave, a postman, said he was also concerned about the amount of plastic wrapping used on magazines aimed at adults which he delivers on his rounds.

"I just remember Skye getting this [magazine] through the doors and she said "that's it" and then writing to the publisher," he said.

"We try to recycle everything we can... if we see litter we pick it up. We just want the publishers to do their bit."

After her petition calling for the toys to be scrapped attracted almost 3,000 signatures, politicians have stepped in to help and her campaign has been raised in Parliament.

Skye is now preparing to write to every school in Wales to highlight the issue.

Welsh Government minister Eluned Morgan has written to magazine publishers, while Plaid Cymru MP Liz Saville-Roberts raised the matter in the House of Commons.

"These toys are marketed at children, whose environmental future we are trying to protect," said Ms Morgan.

"Some plastics can last decades - if not centuries - in our environment. They should be environmentally friendly and serve an educational purpose."

Ms Morgan said the campaign was especially "poignant", coming from a child living in a coastal community threatened by climate change.

Sea defences at Fairbourne will stop being maintained in the 2050s and Gwynedd council has said it may begin moving out villagers before then.

The Welsh Government has committed to "phasing out unnecessary single-use items, especially plastic", in a bid to become a zero waste nation by 2050.

A spokesperson said: "Young people like Skye can help to change attitudes, so we can all start making the changes needed for us to reach our goal of becoming a zero waste nation by 2050.

"We are also working alongside other administrations in the UK - including the UK government - on proposed reforms for extended producer responsibility (EPR), under which packaging producers would be required to pay net costs for managing any plastic waste they create.

"This would include plastic wrapping used to package magazines."

Kennedy Publishers were asked to comment.