War on Plastic Barry Twigg vs BBC

Posted on 09 Aug 2020

The War on Plastic

Barry Twigg vs BBC

Current score

Barry Twigg 0  -  BBC 4

Here is a brief update for anyone interested in our campaign to get the BBC to acknowledge their anti-plastic bias.

We sent details of some of the most glaring examples of the BBC’s anti plastic reporting to Lord Hall as Director General. These were immediately intercepted by the BBC “Complaints Team”. From whom I have now had 3 replies from 3 different people.

The first response was                  “Your complaint does not raise specific issues” !

So, I wrote again for clarity

The second response was             “Our editorial staff have to make difficult decisions” !

So, I wrote again suggesting we appreciate that but why are they always anti plastic?

The third response was                 “Our news editors need to make complex decisions” !

So, I have written again asking; “Will you please give a sensible answer to the following questions?”

1. How can the BBC claim to be unbiased when they produce “The War on Plastic” – a 3-part peak time series which demonized the material rather the fact that it was not disposed of correctly
2. Why on June 24^th did they allocate just 40 secs on News at Ten on a near riot in Brixton which resulted in 22 police officers injured whilst on the same programme they allocated 3mins 40secs on plastic waste being burned in Turkey some of which was exported from the UK
3. Finally, why did Blue Planet II show a dead whale calf with a grieving mother with Sir David Attenborough intoning that it probably died due to plastic in its mother’s milk. The BBC later admitted that there was no evidence to suggest this and it was pure speculation on their part – in fact they lied. Nevertheless this ‘fact’ is now a fixture in the mind of the public and all the Nation remembers the lie.
4. As a consequence having failed to get a sensible reply I rang the BBC 03700 100 222 complaint line and left details of these questions along with the question, “Why does the BBC refuse to reply to any of these questions other than in clichés. I am now informed that (hopefully) they will get back to me within 20 working days!

Once again, I have sent Lord Hall copy letters, but this time to the House of Lords. We have also once again sent copies (recorded delivery) to Oliver Dowden, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport who has responsibility for the BBC within his Ministerial remit and who has to date failed to acknowledge any of the earlier complaints.

If all else fails, my next step will be to try Ofcom. But surely the Plastics Industry is entitled to expect the BBC to reflect more honestly the role plastic plays in modern society, particularly in food waste reduction, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing domestic waste, not to mention the billions of pieces of plastic saving lives with PPE.

Why is any of this important?

The answer is that a recent report from Imperial College found only 2% of the British people consider plastic has the lowest adverse environmental effect of any alternative material. They also acknowledge in the report that plastic is by far the most environmental desirable packaging material, particularly for food and drink applications.

But can the BBC be relied upon to communicate this information? Watch this space!

As always, your views on any of the items raised would be most welcome and why not join me on LinkedIn for more regular conversations. https://www.linkedin.com/in/barry-twigg-3a440b53/

#DontHatePlastic