Page 37 - Vegan Life - Issue 59 (February 2020)

determined to fight against the damage
plastic causes — Christian with Surfers
Against Sewage (sas.org.uk) and Helen
as co-ordinator for Friends of the Earth
Chester and District.
One day, Helen came across a tweet
from Christian chastising the local
council on their inability to act. They
both quickly realised that if they were
to make real change they would need
to come together and take advantage of
the public mood for action on plastic.
The pair started straight away with the
launch of the Plastic Free/Straw Free
Chester campaign in November 2017.
With the support of a small, hardworking
team they set about speaking to local
businesses, discussing the steps they
could take to cut down on their single-
use plastic waste and become more
sustainable. These changes included:

• Cutting out plastic bubble wrap
• Switching to paper or metal
reusable straws
• Using paper bags, rather than plastic
throwaway ones
• Selling glass or canned drinks rather
than plastic
• Ofering water refills to cut down late 2018, just over a year ater starting out keep their community as waste-free
bottled water on their journey. Despite achieving Plastic as possible.
Free status, Friends of the Earth Chester and Regardless of all the dedication and
The Plastic Free Chester team set District’s work is far from done. Whether it tireless work Friends of the Earth Chester
themselves the ambitious goal of becoming be in local parks, on the beaches or even and District have put in over the past two
the UK’s first major city to become Plastic getting sopping wet out on the water, you years, they know it’s future generations
Free — a target they managed to achieve in can oten find them litter picking, helping to that will determine whether the plastic-free
revolution either lives or dies. That’s why a
huge focus of Chester and District Friends
of the Earth’s work is on education; going
into local schools and teaching them about
the impacts of single-use plastic and the
importance of cutting it out. This approach
is not only vital, it’s also hugely rewarding.
The kids are probably as passionate, or
more so, about the future of our planet than
most adults. To see the hope in their eyes
and hear how passionately they talk about
saving the planet goes a long way to remind
you of why you’re doing what you do.
Knowledge is what will win the war
against plastic. The future belongs to
them and we need to make sure we equip
them with what they need to build a
plastic-free future. ■

Find out more about Friends of the
Earth’s plastic campaign, including
more tips and actions at:
friendsotheearth.uk/plastics. For
Chester and District Friends of the Earth,
visit, facebook.com/FOEchester

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