European Commissioner for Education and Culture Androulla Vassiliou pledges support for Jeremy Irons campaign against plastic waste

Brussels, 8-3-2013 — /europawire.eu/ — European Commissioner for Education and Culture Androulla Vassiliou met the Oscar-winning actor Jeremy Irons today (7 March 2013) to discuss his recent film documentary, Trashed, which highlights the huge impact of global waste on the environment and human health.

Directed by British filmmaker Candida Brady, the documentary takes Irons on a shocking journey across the world to see how mounting toxic plastic waste is contaminating our landscapes and oceans, and posing a serious risk to the health of children and adults.

Inadequate recycling, increased consumer materialism and a failure to build products that last or can be repaired are contributing to the problem, according to Irons, who narrates the documentary. During his visit to Brussels, he spoke of his frustration that too many countries seem to view eco-spending as an optional extra. “There is a constant desire to talk about environmentalism rather as we talk about the arts, something that we’ll do when we can afford it, when everything is going well. ‘Just at the moment, however, the economy is in a bit of a dive, so we can’t’,” is the typical reaction, he commented.

A view that Commissioner Vassiliou is familiar with herself, when she urges Member States not to cut back on investment in the culture and creative sectors because of their importance for job creation and growth.

The Commissioner told Irons and Brady that she would encourage EU Education Ministers to screen the documentary at a future meeting. The filmmakers plan to make a shorter version for children. Commissioner Vassiliou said she would urge European Schoolnet, a network whose members are the education ministries of the EU Member States, EFTA countries, Switzerland, Turkey, Georgia and Israel, to help raise awareness about it.

“We want to take a lead on this issue in Europe and to do that we need to educate people, especially young people, about the long-term risks of not addressing the waste problem,” added Commissioner Vassiliou.

Irons said he welcomed Commissioner Vassiliou’s backing and also pledged to take part in her ‘Europe Loves Reading’ campaign to promote literacy.

During their visit to Brussels, Irons and Brady also met Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik, who unveiled a Green Paper today which aims to kick-start a Europe-wide debate on how to make plastic products more sustainable throughout their life cycle and reduce the impact of plastic waste on the environment.

“Managing plastic waste is a major challenge in terms of environmental protection, but it’s also a huge opportunity for resource efficiency. I invite all stakeholders to participate in this process of reflection on how to make plastic part of the solution rather than the problem,” said Potočnik.

Background

Trashed was first screened at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.

Irons, who made his name in the 1980s in films such as The French Lieutenant’s Woman, The Mission and the TV adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’sBrideshead Revisited, won the Best Actor Oscar in 1990 for his portrayal as murderer Claus von Bulow in Reversal of Fortune. His most recent film,Night Train To Lisbon, directed by Billie August, received € 160 000 from the EU MEDIA programme for development, access to finance and distribution.

Androulla Vassiliou, Jeremy Irons and Trashed director Candida Brady

Links:

Environment: What should we do about plastic waste?

About Trashed documentary

Trailer

MEDIA programme

European Schoolnet

For more information

Androulla Vassiliou’s website

Follow Androulla Vassiliou on Twitter @VassiliouEU