Drastic Plastic

Meeting - Thursday 6 December  2018  7.30

Welcome to the Drastic Plastic Webpage and to the newly formed TBI Plastic Waste Group. We consist of members who have got together and agreed that in the wake of the current horrors associated with Plastic Waste, we need to raise awareness of the issues and take action here on the Black Isle. 

A successful inaugural ‘Open’ Meeting was held in June and those who attended had the opportunity to discuss some of the issues, voice their concerns and suggest how they thought we could tackle the subject. Issues discussed were:

• What’s Drastic About Plastic
• How is it affecting the environment and all of us
• Ways we can make a difference on a personal level and collectively as TBI

From those discussions, four main strands for action emerged:

• Publicity: to raise awareness
• Education: so that people can make informed choices
• Campaigning 
• Website Information

These will be developed in future meetings and activities.

Penny Hepburn        info@aquavisiononline.com

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Aims and Objectives

Transition Black Isle           The Drastic Plastic Group

AIM:

The Drastic Plastic Group has been established to raise awareness of the issues surrounding plastic waste within the Black Isle. This will then enable members & businesses within the community to make their own informed choices as to the way they purchase, use, recycle or dispose of their plastic waste.

OBJECTIVES:

1. To highlight the indiscriminate disposal of plastic waste either by the general public or by businesses.
2. To educate the community in the dangers of plastic waste to both human and animal health and to equip the community with knowledge of suitable and sustainable alternatives.
3. To encourage local manufacturing businesses and outlets to end the production and use of single use plastic in their packaging and to provide better labelling on non single use packaging regarding the items' correct form of disposal.
4. To provide accurate, up to date, relevant information on all forms of plastic and their available alternatives.

ACHIEVED THROUGH:

1. Holding publicity events such as a beach clean and plastic waste sculpture competition.
2. The delivery of informative and educational talks from public sector recycling organisations and other appropriate professionals. Holding workshops on ‘up cycling’ and making non plastic alternatives to packaging. The provision of information leaflets to be given out at events such as the Black Isle Community Markets.
3. Letter writing and campaigning to relevant businesses requesting their co-operation and support in the reduction or phasing out of single use plastic packaging and for the provision of accurate plastic recycling labelling information. 
4. The creation of a Drastic Plastic section on the Transition Black Isle website, with appropriate links to the wider Web. Relevant access to & interaction with appropriate social media such as Facebook and Twitter. The formation of an online Directory of local outlets, who are providing suitable alternatives to plastic packaging.

 Penny Hepburn: September 2018

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Meetings

TBI Drastic Plastic Group meeting report

Drastic Plastic Group Meeting held on 19^th September, 2018

8 folk braved the high winds of Storm Ali to attend the meeting

Ideas put forward by the group included:

• Having a stand at one of the Inverness environmental events or TBI Markets to provide information on plastics, recycling and alternatives, together with running related children’s activities.
• Producing and selling our own TBI bamboo, reusable coffee ‘on the go’ mugs and bio degradable ‘dog pooh’ bags.
• Holding a ‘Plastics Awareness’ film night.
• Running  a TBI workshop on ‘How to make reusable waxed food storage bags’.
• Taking part in national ‘online’ plastic protest petitions and joining in with national ‘Plastic Awareness’ events.
• Group letter writing to local businesses to provide positive suggestions and information of alternatives to ‘single use’ plastics, particularly regarding food packaging.
• Setting up a Drop Box for group members to collect and share information.
• Using the newly created Drastic Plastic webpage to provide articles of interest, information and appropriate ‘links’.
   

Minutes of the meeting on 19 September 2018.

Enquiries to Penny Hepburn at  info@aquavisiononline.com

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Campaigning links

Beat plastic pollution

From Changeworks Summer 2018 Too Good To Waste e-bulletin

World Environment Day 2018 saw the launch of the #BeatPlasticPollution campaign which encouraged people across the globe to ditch single use plastics in favour of reusable alternatives. Check out these simple alternatives you can use to make a huge difference and join the reuse revolution!

• A refillable bottle
• A reusable coffee cup
• Reusable cutlery (or a spork)
• A reusable straw (or just say no straw at all!)

Be sure to carry your reusables with you when you are out and about and pack a spare cloth bag too! For more ideas on how to reduce plastic use read this handy cheat sheet.

Bristol Greenpeace Shoppers' Revolt - 17 September 2018

Bristol Greenpeace volunteers and supporters were offering shoppers the chance to show their opposition to the excess plastic packaging that comes with the weekly shop, especially when buying fruit and vegetables.  Our campaigning outside two major supermarkets on Saturday 15th September was part of a national Greenpeace campaign called #ShoppersRevolt and it also coincided with an international day of action called #Plastic Attack which was coordinated in Bristol by One By One Conservation.  Greenpeace groups targeted some 64 shops up and down the country, but many more were visited by Plastic Attack teams.

15 September - Greenpeace 'Shoppers' Revolt' day of action against plastic packaging.  Your chance to take action

Greenpeace emailed . .

"Loads of people like you have shared your photos of excessive plastic packaging and said that you’re fed up with the pointless plastic that comes with your weekly shop. Sometimes it’s possible to avoid plastic packaging, but a lot of the time supermarkets don’t give us a choice.

"It’s time supermarkets were faced with the responsibility of dealing with the pointless plastic they’re producing - instead of leaving customers frustrated with packaging they don’t want or need.

"Lots of people who work in supermarkets have been in touch to tell us that they’re frustrated by the amount of packaging their employers produce. The people who are making the decisions about packaging aren’t the people working in our local supermarkets - it’s the big bosses who have the power to make change happen.

"So we need to get the message through to them. That’s why we’re calling on shoppers around the country to take peaceful action in local stores and online. Click the link below for more info on how you can take part."

Shoppers' Revolt

The nearest local action to the Black Isle is planned for the Co-op store in Telford Street, Inverness, from 2.00 - 4.00

Inverness link

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July 2018 - One person's plastic-free challenge

In their August Newsletter, Changeworks / Home Energy Scotland reported on the challenge undertaken by Mhairi Scott, one of their Waste Wise Volunteers - to go plastic free for the whole of July. 

Read Mhairi's blog