Plastic petition by UK nine-year-old gains over 70k signatures in under a week

After studying how microplastics damage the oceans, schoolgirl Lizzie wants the government to stop sending waste to developing countries

A petition by a nine-year-old schoolgirl calling on Boris Johnson to stop shipments of plastic waste to developing countries has received more than 70,000 signatures in less than a week.

Lizzie A*, who is studying plastic pollution in year 4, said she began the petition because sending Britain's unsorted plastic waste to poorer nations is unfair" and wrong. She took action last week after her mother, Esther, showed her a piece in the Guardian's Seascape series, revealing the UK will continue to ship plastic waste to developing countries despite an EU ban on the practice from this month.