Greenpeace wastes British PM Boris Johnson in comedy ad

Greenpeace has recreated what would happen if the plastic waste exported by the UK in one day was dumped on 10 Downing Street.

The animation, voiced by impressionists Jon Culshaw and Matt Forde, shows a plastic figurine of Prime Minister Boris Johnson deluged in bottles, cartons and crisp packets while he reels off warm words about waste in front of the watching paparazzi. 

Cabinet minister Michael Gove gets the same treatment in “Wasteminster” while Larry the Downing Street cat watches on in the film that runs for nearly two minutes.

The ad was created by Studio Birthplace and directed by Park Village's Jorik Dozy and Sil van der Woerd. The directors said the words used by the Johnson and Gove characters were all taken from real Government speeches and statements on the environment. 

Greenpeace said the UK exported 688,000 tonnes of plastic packaging waste in 2020 which equates to an average of 1.8 million kilograms a day.

While it is illegal to export plastic waste unless it is recycled or incinerated in an energy-from-waste plant, the campaign group claims investigations have revealed evidence of UK plastic being dumped and burned in the countries the UK exports the most plastic waste to, such as Turkey and Malaysia.

Greenpeace is calling for an immediate ban on all exports to non-OECD countries, like Malaysia, and mixed plastic waste to OECD countries, like Turkey.

It also wants a complete ban on all plastic waste exports by 2025, and for the government to also set legally-binding targets to reduce single-use plastics by 50% by 2025.

The ad has already had tens of thousands of likes on social media.