As plastic free July comes to an end, Lib Dem Councilor and long term environmental campaigner Graham Neale has written to the council urging it to take radical action to become plastic free.
With a recycling rate of just 35% in Southwark, significant amounts of plastic ends up in the streets, rivers, and oceans. Though higher rates of recycling will help, reducing the plastic used in the first place would have the most impact on protecting the environment from the danger caused by plastics.
Many households and businesses are opting to find ways to reduce their use of plastics – from reusable cups to sustainable zero-waste grocery shopping. As well as supporting these actions, the council can reduce the amount of plastic that it uses itself.
Writing to the Chief Executive of Southwark Council, Cllr Neale urged the council to record and publish how much single use plastic it uses, and eliminate as much of it as possible.
Councilor Graham Neale said, “Plastic pollution is a severe hazard to wildlife locally and globally, but also to the ecosystem as a whole. Every day we learn more and more about how damaging our use of plastic is
“The council has a real opportunity to be a leading light on this issue, by increasing recycling rates, supporting households and businesses to reduce how much they use, and eliminate their own use as much as possible
“Southwark can should be leading the plastic free movement for the long term, not just this July”
