PLASTIC FREE BROCKENHURST

WE DID IT!

Brockenhurst has been awarded Plastic Free Communities status by Surfers Against Sewage!

Brockenhurst has joined a network of communities across the UK who are leading the way to tackle throw away plastic at source. The village has been awarded Plastic Free Community status by marine conservation charity, Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), in recognition of the work it has done to start reducing the impact of single-use plastic on the environment.

Local residents and members of Greener Brockenhurst started the campaign at the end of year after wanting to do something to help the village on its journey to go Plastic Free. Living in the New Forest National Park it is important to consider our surroundings and encourage everyone to help the environment and reduce the amount of single-use plastic.

Registering with the SAS Plastic Free Communities movement, Greener Brockenhurst pulled together key organisations and businesses in the village to put in place a five-point plan. The objectives include; setting up a community led steering group, instigating the SAS Plastic Free Schools education programme, getting local council commitment and working with local businesses, organisations and community groups to spread the word and minimise the amount of disposable plastics they use.

The group have had fantastic backing for the campaign particularly from the community groups in the village who have all shown great commitment and support for the campaign. We now have in excess of 12 Community groups who have signed their pledge to become community allies and consider ways to cut down on the amount of plastic they use in their activities. They have also pledged to communicate the aims of the campaign to their members. These include St Saviours Church, the Scouts, Brownies, Mother’s Union, Allotment Association, Brockenhurst Village Hall, Brockenhurst Business Association, Brockenhurst Cricket Club and the Brockenhurst WI.

Congratulations!

Well done to our business partners

Businesses have also played their part in winning the accreditation and made pledges on initiatives they will take to cut down on the plastic they use. Businesses who become Plastic Free Champions will display a badge of accreditation, so please look out for them around the village.

The group are looking forward to more businesses taking the pledge to become champions as there are many that share the same ideals …so businesses please step forward and sign up at plasticfreebrockenhursf@gmail.com and we will guide you through and more can be found at www.plasticfree.org.uk/get-involved/business/

PHOTO (left to right): Bronya Szatkowska (bronze design), Francesca Mannone & Maurizio Redaelli (Cottage Lodge Hotel) and Ian Johnson (CardioCare)

Our Objectives

We have been working towards five objectives to achieve the Plastic Free Communities award:

Working with the local council
Encouraging local businesses to reduce single use plastic
Signing up community groups, schools and organisations
Holding events and actions
Setting up a steering group to drive the movement

The effectiveness of the campaign is based on mobilising the whole community, working across sectors – local government, independent businesses, community groups, schools and more – to address failing systems.

Please come and join us! There is much to do!

Picture shows one of our Litter Picks around the area.

The Plastic Free Communities Manifesto

We live in a plastic world. It’s an extraordinarily useful, versatile, cheap material. And it’s everywhere.

And it’s a growth industry, with one in every ten barrels of oil now used to create new plastic.

But together, we can make sure we kick our addiction to avoidable single-use plastic, and change the system that produces it.

We can make sure we don’t choke our streets, parks and playgrounds with it. Because if it’s on our street today, then it’s in our rivers tomorrow, and our beaches and oceans forever.

We can make sure each of us understands that we can change this, whoever we are and wherever we live.

But we can only do all of this together. That’s why we created Plastic Free Communities.

It’s a community network across the UK that’s tackling single-use plastic from the beach, all the way back to the brands and businesses who create it.

We’re on a journey to unite communities in the fight against single-use plastics, wherever we find them.

It starts here and it starts with us. And if you’re still reading this, that means you too.

So join us and let’s free where we live from single-use, one plastic bottle at a time.