Port Solent in '¨plans to go '˜plastic free'

Port Solent has joined the Final Straw Solent campaign, being run in association with The News, to minimise the impact of plastics on the marine environment.

The campaign has seen more than 100 businesses from across the Solent region sign up to fight back against single-use platics.

It is hoped that through this campaign, all bars and restaurants across the region will ditch plastic straws for good.

According to statistics released by the Marine Conservation Society the UK uses 8.5 billion single-use plastic straws a year – most of which are discarded after 20 minutes.

The Final Straw Solent team has not only been rallying a wide array of businesses to the cause, but actively making a difference with beach clean events.

Lisa Fowler, Port Solent’s event manager, says that the decision is one that everyone at Port Solent is passionate about, as they look to make a difference to the local environment.

She said: ‘The Boardwalk at Port Solent is delighted to be working with The Final Straw Solent, in the hope of making Port Solent plastic straw free.

‘Whilst we know this may be a challenge, it is one we are passionate about and hope that all of our tenants join us and come on board.’

The founder of Final Straw Solent, Bianca Carr, has welcomed the news, saying that Port Solent is an ‘important location’ in the ongoing battle against plastic waste.

She said: ‘We strongly believe that this collaboration will be incredibly successful and will help us to achieve our goals of one day making the Solent area, at the very least, free from single-use plastic straws.

‘With the level of footfall through Port Solent we feel that this is such an important location to help spread awareness of the plastic crisis and how it is potentially affecting our marine life.’

For more information about the work of the Final Straw Solent group, people can go to finalstrawsolent.wordpress.com.