Businesses on the Roseland are leading the way with removing and replacing single use plastics – helping bring the area one step closer to achieving ‘plastic free status’.
A trade fair organised by the Roseland Visitors Centre to raise awareness of plastic use and disposal within our communities highlighted how local traders are rising to the challenge.
Speakers at the event included Pat Smith, who set up The Final Straw campaign (http://finalstrawcornwall.co.uk) to help Cornwall become the first plastic straw free county in the country, Harriet Davies of the National Trust, who organises regular beach cleans, and Karen Baxter, manager of the Tresanton, who spoke about their efforts to reduce plastic.
Volunteers from the Plastic Free Roseland group were also invited to highlight their new initiative. St Agnes based environmental charity, Surfers against Sewage, has provided an official standard of what it takes to use their “Plastic Free’ status and the Roseland group is hoping to work towards achieving this.
Volunteers have already begun the process of collecting information from businesses and groups.
To help achieve the status, businesses must remove or replace THREE single use plastic items from their businesses. Each business can chose their three items, such as plastic straws, plastic bottles, cups, single use condiment sachets, cotton wool buds with plastic sticks, shampoo/bathroom products etc.
Many businesses had taken action already and Plastic Free Roseland has begun highlighting the ‘Plastic Free Champion businesses’ on its Facebook page.
Alongside making changes to become single use plastic free, businesses are also being urged to consider joining the Refill scheme, whereby a blue sticker provided by the initiative lets customers know that they are welcome to fill up their reusable water containers while out and about. For more information go to www.refill.org.uk/refill-scheme/refill-cornwall/
Members of Plastic Free Roseland have also been attending parish council meetings, and asking for their support. St Just in Roseland Parish Council have already voted to lend their support, and the group is hoping others are set to follow.
To find out more about becoming a ‘Plastic Free Champion’, please visit their Facebook page on https://www.facebook.com/plasticfreeroseland/ or contact Amanda Harley on amanda.harley@mac.com