Campaign toolkits have been sent to over 100 organisations
inviting them to raise awareness of environmentally-friendly
alternatives to single-use plastic items.
The toolkit has been created by the Environment Agency’s plastics
and sustainability team as part of the Interreg
Preventing Plastic Pollutionproject. The aim is to
embed positive behaviour change. Experts say that 50% of all
plastic produced is for single-use items – items that are often
only used a few times and then discarded, which may pollute
rivers and oceans, causing harm to wildlife.
Environment Agency project lead Hannah Amor said:
Everyone has a part to play in minimising their avoidable plastic
consumption and carbon footprint to help conserve the natural
world.
Sport can influence thousands of people that may otherwise not
engage with environmental issues. Three billion people watched
the Tokyo Olympics. That is a huge platform to showcase
sustainability and make it the new norm for people taking part in
and watching sport.
We hope this campaign will encourage people from all walks of
life involved in sport to take even the smallest step, like
wearing a hydration belt or carrying a resuable cup.
Collectively, changing our daily habits can make a huge
difference.
The toolkit includes twice-weekly posts encouraging deposit
return schemes, re-wearing old kit and avoiding single-use
plastic waste at celebrations. The posts also signpost to new
sustainability guidance for sports
events, stadiums and community
clubs, and encourage people to sign up to the Big Plastic
Pledge - a global movement founded by Olympic gold medallist
Hannah Mills.
The campaign will also run on the Interreg Preventing Plastic
Pollution Twitter feed at @Plastic_EU, with the first
post going live on Friday 1 July (tomorrow).
Plastic Free July is a global movement that helps millions of
people be part of the solution to plastic pollution. It was
launched by the Plastic Free Foundation which aims to see a world
free of plastic waste.
Notes to editorsEnvironment Agency
role
As a regulator, preventing waste plastic entering the environment
by cracking down on waste crime and poor waste management is a
key activity for the Environment Agency. As an influencer, it
also has an ambition to promote better environmental practices
that result in a reduction of plastic waste, helping to achieve
the goals and commitments outlined in its five year plan to
create better places for people and wildlife, and the
government’s 25 Year Environment Plan.
Preventing Plastic Pollution (PPP)
PPP is a €14million funded EU INTERREG VA France (Channel)
England Programme project co-financed by the European Regional
Development Fund which works mainly across pilot
catchments: Brest Harbour, Bay of Douarnenez, Bay of Veys, Test
and Itchen, East Hampshire, Poole Harbour, Medway, Tamar,
and the Great Ouse catchments.
Working in partnership with 18 organisations from across France
and England, PPP seeks to understand and reduce the impacts of
plastic pollution in the river and marine environments. By
looking at the catchment from source to sea, the project
identifies and targets hotspots for plastic, embeds behaviour
change in local communities and businesses, and implement
effective solutions and alternatives.
Partners are the Environment Agency, Department for Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs, Queen Mary University of London, LABOCEA
Conseil, Expertise et Analyses, Syndicat mixte établissement
public de gestion et d’aménagement de la baie de Douarnenez,
Office Français De La Biodiversité, Parc naturel marin d’Iroise,
Brest Métropole, Centre national de la recherche scientifique,
Counseil départemental de la Manche, Institut français de
recherche pour l’exploitation de la mer, The Rivers Trust,
Syndicat de bassin de l’Elorn, ACTIMAR, Brest’aim, Westcountry
Rivers Trust, South East Rivers Trust, and Plymouth City Council.
