LOCAL campaigners are planning an event to raise awareness about the amount of plastic sold in supermarkets that is not recyclable – and they want the community to get involved.
The group has called the event #Returntheplastic and is asking people to save up clean non-recyclable plastic and bring it to Sainsbury’s, Marston Road on Saturday 7th April at 12pm. As well as highlighting the issue with plastic, they hope to encourage the store to reduce the number of plastic products they sell.
Member of the group, Julian Thomas who is behind the idea said, “So much of the plastic waste that we can’t recycle comes from supermarkets. The companies make huge profits while the plastic packaging they sell us causes massive environmental damage as seen recently on BBC’s Blue Planet II.
“#Returntheplastic is a simple idea to highlight the issue and encourage supermarkets to urgently act to reduce plastic on the products they sell.
“We are asking supermarkets to arrange for the returned plastic to be taken to suitable mixed-plastic recycling and to take a lead from Iceland and pledge to go plastic-free in five years or less.
“Supermarkets need to urgently improve their use of plastics so that a much higher proportion is easily recyclable. We believe that they should immediately stop selling plastic straws, plastic earbuds and products containing microbeads. They should initiate a deposit-return scheme on plastic bottles and initiate and fund local mixed-plastic recycling nationwide.”
Mendip District Green Party councillor Shane Collins said, “The government has just announced a consultation on a plastic tax and pledged to ban ‘avoidable’ plastics by 2042, but in Somerset in the space of three months Frome Town, Glastonbury Town, Mendip District and Somerset County Councils have all agreed to ban single-use plastic from their activities, Frome’s cafes are greening up, offering reusable mugs and water refills, now it is time to pressurise the biggest culprits of all, the supermarkets.”
More information can be found at: www.facebook .com/ events/173780916751166