Fighting Plastic December 2018 Progress report

Plastic progress

Since writing about my attempts to make a difference in my own rubbish recycling habits I have had interesting encounters and ideas.

It is no good trying to change the world individually but taking responsibility individually is quite a different matter and this is something we can all do.

I have had moments of despondency about the futility of what I am doing but I do believe that things are changing and that public awareness is growing. We can all help to raise this awareness.

One example – we (personally) often have a take away Indian meal from The Prince of India (wonderful food). I hated the fact that every time the meal is presented not only in a perfectly adequate paper carrier bag but also in a heavy duty plastic carrier. I started rejecting the plastic bag, much to the puzzlement and amusement of the staff but after a couple of visits they stopped offering me the plastic bag and the last time we went there we noticed that they had changed to very lightweight disposable bags instead. One small personal triumph!

I am now politely tackling cafes about plastic straws. A quiet word here and there or a letter to the big chains can only be positive.

What about plastic toys for the kids? There is a mountain on its own. There are alternatives and we can find them easily enough. There is an educational aspect to this as well. The next generations will need to live with limited plastic so let’s make the children aware now.

With regard to Wendover though – our Council has a great many issues to deal with and do a great job. However, I am sure that they can see this huge problem coming down the road towards us. A proper, staffed recycling centre is one way to go and maybe room could be found at the Halton camp site. There will be costs but this is probably the biggest issue we are facing right now along with climate change.
There are such centres around and I have investigated them and found them either unmanned and chaotic or too far away to be practical. Governments and Councils can help us all by thinking ahead in a positive way to help us to be responsible citizens.

Barbara McGillivray

Pat Riley-Page has brought to our attention a petition calling on the UK government to ban “problem plastics” (like black plastic trays and styrofoam): click here.

Jonathan Clover has suggested that interested parties, including businesses, could send their ideas to Wendover News to share, see Scruples reducing their carbon footprint, click here.