Futures Forum: Make Sidmouth plastic free > public meeting Wednesday 20th June
Futures Forum: Make Sidmouth plastic free > meeting Wednesday 20th June > to become a 'Plastic Free Coastline' town and agree a plan of action
And the meeting had to satisfy the criteria as set out by the Surfers Against Sewage project:
Plastic Free Coastlines • Surfers Against Sewage
And the news is:
We are so close to having our bid to become a 'Plastic Free Coastline' town approved!
Sidmouth Plastic Warriors – Doing everything in our power to get Sidmouth single-use-plastic-free
Meanwhile, here are the minutes from the meeting:
PLASTIC FREE SIDMOUTH
SECOND MEETING OF STEERING GROUP
Hosted by the Futures Forum of the
Vision Group for Sidmouth
Wednesday 20th June 2018
MINUTES
Attendees:
·
Members and
representatives from the following organisations, comprising the Steering Group
of Plastic Free Sidmouth:
o SidEnergy
o Sidmouth Arboretum
o Sidmouth Coastal Community Hub
o Sidmouth in Bloom
o Sidmouth Plastic Warriors
o Vision Group for Sidmouth
·
Members of the
public and local community
·
Apologies from:
Sidmouth Town Councillors; District Councillors; Neighbourhood Plan steering
group
Robert Crick, chair of the Vision Group’s Futures Forum,
opened proceedings by asking attendees to introduce themselves and to describe
both a positive and a negative ‘experience with plastic’.
The chair then referred to the Minutes of the meeting of 22nd
February at which the Plastic Free Sidmouth project was formally launched.
He reminded attendees of the following:
·
At the meeting, a Steering Group of stakeholders, community
groups and interested parties within the town was formally set up, to help achieve
the status of ‘plastic free town’ for Sidmouth: http://futuresforumvgs.blogspot.com/2018/02/make-sidmouth-plastic-free-report-from.html
·
Sidmouth Plastic Warriors was formally tasked
with bringing Sidmouth to the first stage of accreditation with Surfers Against
Sewage, in our bid to attain Single-Use-Plastic-Free town status: https://www.sas.org.uk/plasticfreecoastlines/ and https://www.sas.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Plastic-Free-Coastlines-Community-Toolkit.pdf
Denise Bickley, chair of Sidmouth Plastic Warriors reported
on progress made:
·
SPW has taken a lead re community involvement in the project, with hundreds
now signing up on Facebook and making use of other social media: https://www.facebook.com/groups/181478989253793/ and https://twitter.com/sidplasticwar?lang=en
·
Community events organised by SPW have included monthly clean-ups in town and on the beach – the latest being last month at the
SeaFest: http://sidmouthplasticwarriors.org/clean-up-5-sas-sidmouth-sea-fest-may-12th-2018/ Another is planned for 24th June – with support from East
Devon District Council.
·
SWP has received an enthusiastic mandate to
support the project from the Town Council: http://sidmouthplasticwarriors.org/sidmouth-town-council-meeting/ This has been
followed up by the Town Clerk inviting SWP to assist with further projects,
including signage and installation of water fountains.
·
SWP has worked closely with schools: that the
campaign is enthusiastically supported by young people provides a positive
corrective to the tendency to blame ‘youth’ for plastic waste: http://sidmouthplasticwarriors.org/sidmouth-college-assemblies-april-2018/ At this
evening’s meeting it was proposed that they should be approached to help design
the logo for Plastic Free Sidmouth (see below).
·
SWP has engaged 16 businesses in the project,
following a very positive presentation to the Chamber of Commerce: http://sidmouthplasticwarriors.org/sidmouth-chamber-of-commerce-may-2018/ Further businesses
and organisations are making moves to offer plastic free alternatives –
including the Folk Week organisers (see below).
The meeting also considered other events and actions forming
part of the Plastic Free Sidmouth project, including:
·
A visit to Exeter’s waste management plant
organised by SidEnergy: https://visionforsidmouth.org/event/sidenergy-visit-to-exeter-waste-to-energy-plant/ and http://sidmouthplasticwarriors.org/trip-to-exeter-energy-from-waste-facility-april-24-2018/
·
The establishment of Sidmouth’s first
‘plastic-free’ festival: the SeaFest demonstrated that caterers and
stall-holders could not only function very well but that the public were very
enthusiastic about the initiative: https://www.facebook.com/events/202299560323789/ and http://sidmouthcoastalcommunityhub.org/sidmouth-sea-fest/
·
The Sidmouth Plastics Week organised by the
Futures Forum of the Vision Group and the Sidmouth Science Festival: https://visionforsidmouth.org/event/sidmouth-plastics-week-launched/ and http://futuresforumvgs.blogspot.com/search/label/sidmouth%20plastics%20week
·
A Freedom of Information request to Devon
County Council re the handling of plastic waste by the authority: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/sending_plastic_to_the_correct_r#incoming-1166516
·
Sidmouth in Bloom’s ‘Sidcombers’ clean-up
events in the town and on the beach: http://www.sidmouthherald.co.uk/news/join-in-town-task-force-day-to-spruce-up-sidmouth-1-5535079 and http://sidmouth.gov.uk/78-news-from-sidmouth-town-council/668-town-task-force-clean-up-day SPW and SIB
have been coordinating their clean-up events: the next is on 27th
June.
·
The Museum, run by the Sid Vale Association,
with a series of exhibitions, including on Tuamor the Turtle, by local
children’s author Jo Earlem: http://futuresforumvgs.blogspot.com/2018/05/tuamor-turtle-comes-to-sidmouth-sea.html
·
Jurassic Paddle Sports installation of a
#2minutebeachcleanboard on the seafront: http://www.sidmouthherald.co.uk/news/time-for-a-2minutebeachclean-in-sidmouth-1-5106788
The chair asked attendees to contribute ideas for Actions
over the coming weeks to enable the Plastic Free Sidmouth project to progress
further. It was suggested that the following groups and organisations should be
approached:
·
Recycling
Centre re charging for receiving material/goods, which actually
encourages fly-tipping and unauthorized dumping of waste.
·
Supermarkets:
for example, bags for bread and vegetables.
·
Independent
shops: for example, the fruit & veg shop in Exmouth provides a
model by using a ‘scoop’ system, thus avoiding plastic bags.
·
Organisers
of Folk Week and pubs
re eliminating use of disposable plastic beakers; the Rugby Club already have a
system in place for selling beverages.
·
Chamber of Commerce re publicising good
practice; bulk discounts on alternatives.
·
Schools re designing bags and logo
for Plastic Free Sidmouth; re interviewing residents about ‘What are you doing
to help?’
·
Individuals re initiatives, for
example, ‘The One Bin Challenge’, reducing rubbish and so using only one bin
per year, as it is not just a matter of replacing plastic with alternatives but
of reducing consumption and waste generally.
·
Fisherfolk re ‘ghost nets’: https://www.plasticsoupfoundation.org/en/2018/03/problem-of-ghost-nets-larger-than-imagined/
·
Town Council re signage encouraging
smokers to dispose of (plastic) cigarette ends.
·
Library re displays on solutions
and alternatives.
·
SWW re the "Sidmouth
specific" case that our drains
discharge directly into the ocean.
One particular initiative which was suggested was a
‘plastic strip’ outside supermarkets: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-43559636
and http://futuresforumvgs.blogspot.com/2018/04/shop-and-drop-day-of-action-at-irish.html
·
on a particular day at a given time, shoppers
would ‘strip off’ their plastic packaging as a coordinated action to
demonstrate the amount of plastic used by retailers;
·
retailers would be approached beforehand, to
give warning and details of action; to be asked to provide recycling bins;
·
statements would be made to the press, to make
the purpose of the actions clear to the wider community;
·
tables would be laid outside to help shoppers
remove packaging and provide leaflets and further information.
The chair closed the meeting, thanking the Steering Group
and members of the wider community for their contributions and confirming that
further actions would be posted on-line and in the press.
It was hoped that the meeting would further the SAS
accreditation process – to enable Sidmouth to become a plastic free town.
Finally, attendees were reminded that Sunday 24th
June would see the next clean-up, taking place in Woolbrook.
.
.
.
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