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With over 8 million tonnes of plastic entering the ocean every year, and 100,000 marine mammals and turtles and 1 million sea birds killed by marine plastic pollution annually, Surfers Against Sewage is urging communities in the UK to act. Eliminating plastic from the ocean is a mammoth task, but a more realistic one is encouraging each community to reduce their own plastic use.
As a result, in July 2017 the environmental charity launched a project called Plastic Free Communities, which Sutton on Sea and Mablethorpe, propelled by Sutton on Sea BeachCare, Anglian Water, and Keep Britain Tidy, joined in September 2018. They received information and support on how to decrease the use of plastic within the community. Project Officer Rachel Yates said: “It isn’t about removing all plastic from our lives, but kicking our addiction to throwaway plastic and changing the system that produces it.” The initiative objectives challenge local government, businesses, schools, and community groups to tackle dependences on single-use plastic items change them for sustainable alternatives, and stimulate education on the real danger of plastic pollution.
Sutton on Sea and Mablethorpe join a network of Plastic Free Communities across the UK who are leading the movement to tackling single-use plastic usage. In December 2017 Penzance became Britain’s inaugural “Plastic-Free” town. Since then, Surfers Against Sewage has awarded over 100 other places, and more than 500 communities have signed up to the initiative. Several communities in Lincolnshire have already joined, including Cleethorpes, Skegness, Sleaford, Lincoln and Grantham, and are moving towards accomplishing the objectives, but Sutton on Sea and Mablethorpe are the first receive the award.
However, it is worth noting that being certified “Plastic Free” doesn’t mean our coastline is completely plastic free, which may not come as a surprise given the pervasiveness of plastics in our current society. Rather, it is a declaration of motivation and a measure of the community taking action in order to get there. Activities encouraged by the initiative guidelines include creating a community steering group, encouraging local businesses to replace single use plastics, and coordinating beach clean-up efforts. Already the Sutton on Sea and Mablethorpe campaign has worked with the local BeachCare groups to hold several beach cleans throughout the year, rescuing huge quantities of rubbish before they reach the ocean, whilst multiple businesses in the towns are making the change from single-use plastic, for instance plastic straws and bags, to sustainable alternatives, such as paper straws and bags. It is hoped that other businesses, schools, community groups and individuals will as news of the effort grows.