Helen Tandy, Director, Eco Communities
Members of the Plastic Free Neston community group, with Town Mayor, Councillor Stephen Wastell.
The Eco Communities team are proud to have helped Neston join a network of communities across the UK who are leading the way to tackle throw away plastic at source. Neston have been awarded Plastic Free Community status by marine conservation charity, Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), in recognition of the work it has done to start reducing the impact of single-use plastic on the environment.
Having achieved Plastic Free Chester in 2018 we decided to support other regions in Cheshire by managing Plastic Free projects around the County.
I have seen lots of communities starting Plastic Free Campaigns where they live and then running out of steam. I decided we could help co-ordinate, Project Manage and support regions with what we learnt through our work in Chester. It has been a hugely successful process and as a result we have been working with Neston, Tattenhall, Frodsham, Ellesmere Port, Willaston and Hoole in gaining its own status.
A region either comes to us or we contact people in the region to see if they are interested in campaigning against single use plastics where they live. I am so proud of the team in Neston for its achievement in a really short timescale. They couldn’t have done it without the support of Audrey Duncan from Neston Town Council and Angharad Armson from The End of the Avenue, who were both key in supporting the campaign in the region, along with Neston Earth Group.
Registering with the SAS Plastic Free Communities movement the region has to pull together key organisations and businesses in the town to put in place a five-point plan.
The objectives included us setting up a community led steering group, instigating the SAS Plastic Free Schools education programme, working with Neston Town Council, local businesses, organisations and community groups such as Neston Earth Group to spread the word and minimise the amount of disposable plastics they use.
The Surfers Against Sewage Plastic Free Community network aims to free the places where we live from single-use. Using the five point plan the aim is to empower communities to kick start local grassroots action, which can then be built upon.
If you would like to support a region where you live and reduce its reliance on Single Use Plastic then please get in touch with Angharad, office@sustainablecheshire.uk
Sustainable Cheshire 