Member

Marine ecosystems such as the Solent seascape, which covers 52,000 hectares of coastal and marine habitats, including the Titchfield haven in my constituency, are precious. We have spoken at length over many years about the impact of sewage in our waterways, but we now need to talk about the impact of plastic. That project aims to reverse loss of biodiversity in the Solent, which will have all kinds of benefits, including tourism and nature-based solutions to flooding. Seagrass installation relies on a very delicate ecosystem, which includes thriving fish populations, but leaching toxins from plastic cigarette butts put those populations at risk.