We risk undermining fairness in how pollution is addressed, warns the Royal Society of Chemistry, as it calls on the UK government to adopt a ‘polluter pays’ policy for companies that discharge toxic ‘forever chemicals’ into the environment.
The organisation has partnered with Burcu Yesilyurt, who lives in Kew, to highlight the lack of consistency in our current regulatory system, after Burcu was last month fined £150 from Richmond-Upon-Thames Council under the Environmental Protection Act, for pouring a small amount of coffee from her reusable cup down the drain before she boarded a bus to work. The council has since overturned the fine.
Analysis from the Royal Society of Chemistry found more than a third of water courses tested in England and Wales contain medium or high-risk levels of PFAS, more commonly known as ‘forever chemicals’, with samples from the River Thames recording the highest concentrations in the country. This group of more than 4,700 widely used chemicals has been linked to a range of health issues including testicular cancer, fertility issues, and developmental defects in unborn children.
The Royal Society of Chemistry is calling on the UK Government to introduce a ‘polluter pays’ principle, which would mandate that companies producing or using problematic chemicals contribute to their removal from the environment, similar to forthcoming EU changes to the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive. For example, polluting companies could be made to fund additional treatment to reduce or remove chemicals from wastewater.
UK water courses can become contaminated near sites where there has been a significant discharge of PFAS, including industrial facilities that produce or use PFAS, landfill sites where contaminated liquid may leak out of waste into the surrounding soil and water, and airports, military sites, fire training areas, and sites of major fires, as PFAS are commonly used in firefighting foams.
Dr Natalie Sims, Policy Advisor at the Royal Society of Chemistry, said: “Burcu was fined for a cup of coffee down the drain, but industries releasing harmful chemicals into our rivers face no comparable scrutiny. It’s time to apply the polluter pays principle across the board.
“Burcu’s case exposes wider gaps in the way pollution is managed in the UK, with major industrial polluters too often getting off the hook. Companies that pollute the environment with toxic chemicals, like PFAS, should pay for their removal from our waterways, rather than burden already strained public purse strings.
“At the same time, we need to hold ‘diffuse sources’ – such as road run-off, waste emissions and agriculture – to the same level of monitoring and enforcement as water companies.”
Speaking of her fine, Burcu Yesilyurt added: “It’s hard not to feel like there’s one rule for ordinary people and another for big businesses. I was fined for pouring away a small splash of coffee, yet companies that release harmful chemicals into our rivers often face no consequences. If we’re serious about protecting the environment, responsibility has to start at the top.
“We don’t even properly measure how much PFAS is getting into our water, let alone expect companies to help clean it up. Until polluters pay, the rest of us will keep covering the cost. I just want a cleaner, safer future for my daughter — and that’s why I’m writing to my MP, hoping others will too.”
Water management in England and Wales is currently a hot topic in government, with a white paper expected this autumn to lay the groundwork for a Water Reform Bill in 2026.
The Royal Society of Chemistry is encouraging people to write to their MPs to make sure this opportunity is not missed to improve our water quality and impacts on the environment, which can be done at rsc.li/clean-it-up.
