STAFF at Frome Town Hall will be phasing out the use of unrecyclable single-use plastic products in all council activities by April. Councillors made the decision unanimously at the latest council meeting, on the 13th December, after it was proposed by the council’s resilience manager Anna Francis.
The council will also be talking to businesses and organisations in Frome, promoting alternatives and encouraging a move towards biodegradable and paper options. Several cafes in the town are already doing a great job in paving the way; Moo and Two, Garden Cafe and the River House have agreed to phase out plastic straws, to reduce straws used and to replace plastic straws with either biodegradable or paper ones.
Councillor Peter Macfadyen said, “The UK throws away 1.5 million tonnes of plastic packaging waste each year. The decision for Frome Town Council to actively move away from plastic was a no- brainer. It’s a huge problem and we all need to do more to combat it – individuals and organisations alike. Tiny things like straws and condiment packets all add up, and are often the worst offenders when it comes to landfill and pollution.”
The huge worldwide issue of plastic pollution has been given wider publicity recently through the BBC’s popular series ‘Blue Planet 2’ that left viewers devastated at what human impact is having on the world’s oceans.
The programme showed a pilot whale carrying her dead newborn calf, refusing to let it go after it died, probably through contaminated milk due to the mother’s ingestion of plastic.
Sir David Attenborough, narrator of the programme told the viewers, “Unless the flow of plastics and industrial pollution into the ocean is reduced, marine life will be poisoned by them for many centuries to come.
“The creatures that live in the big blue are perhaps more remote than any other animal, but not remote enough to escape the effects of what we are doing to their world.”
In his New Year action plan, Environment Secretary, Michael Gove, is planning to introduce refundable deposits on plastic drink bottles alongside other measures to help the overall reduction of plastic waste created by the UK,
There are many simple ways to cut down on plastic. Use a refillable water bottle, take re-usable bags with you when you go shopping, refuse straws when eating and drinking out, buy a reusable coffee cup, available from cafés and shops around town. On a larger scale, businesses in Frome could consider sourcing non-plastic catering equipment and packaging from suppliers, listed on Frome Town Council’s website: www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/plastic-free/
