21 December 2017
Mendip District Council became the latest council to commit to going single-use plastic free when the following motion was passed on 18th December:
'That this council will become a 'single-use plastic free' council by phasing out the use of 'single use plastic' (SUP) products such as bottles, cups, cutlery and drinking straws in a council activities, where it is reasonable to do so, by April 2018 and to encourage our facilities' users, local businesses and other local public agencies to do the same, by championing alternatives, such as reusable water bottles.'
The Green Party motion was seconded by a Conservative councillor and achieved cross party support.
This means that in Somerset alone, in the space of 8 weeks, Glastonbury Town Council, Frome Town Council and now Mendip District Council have renounced single use plastics, as well as Norwich, Brighton, Penzance and many other Councils in the UK, mainly as a result of Green Party motions.
Shane Collins, the Green Party district councillor for Frome Market, who declared the motion, said: "In the New Year we hope to arrange a series of exhibitions in the markets towns of Mendip showing off the alternatives to single use plastics and encourage local businesses to go 'No Single-Use Plastics'. In the meantime we can all ask our local cafes and pubs to go 'No Single-Use Plastics' and encourage other Councils to do the same."
Single-use plastics have become an issue of particular concern in recent years, as the catastrophic effect of plastic waste on marine wildlife has become clear, and concerns have grown about plastic waste entering the animal and human food chain.
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