Environmental campaigners in Hampshire bring almost 400 companies on board with anti-plastic agenda
The coronavirus pandemic has forced all of us to change the way we do things, and think outside the box to get them done.
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Hide AdThe Final Straw Foundation, which operates in association with The News, is no exception.
Formerly the Final Straw Solent campaign, the group has become a registered charity, having essentially achieved the goal they wanted.
After pressure from groups across the country, the government finally outlawed plastic straws on October 1 this year.
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Hide AdLissie Pollard, the charity’s director of operations, said: ‘We were always hoping that we would transform into a charity anyway so it was good to finally do that.
‘We rebranded this year too, particularly because the legislation finally came through with the government bringing the straw ban into place, so now plastic straws will not be given out in pubs and restaurants.
‘It seemed the perfect time for us to change to the Final Straw Foundation and change the branding to something more generally environmental.’
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Hide AdEstablished in February 2018 by Lissie and her friend, Bianca Carr, the campaign operated with a three-pronged attack on single-use plastics.
At the core was encouraging businesses from Portsmouth and the surrounding area to ditch single-use plastics from their operations, whether that was plastic cutlery in the office or plastic food packaging for restaurants.
Simultaneously, Lissie and Bianca were organising beach cleans across the Solent, collecting rubbish that had washed ashore, while also raising awareness in schools.
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Hide AdThe impact of this has been profound, with almost 400 organisations joining the campaign since its inception, including Portsmouth FC, Gosport Submarine Museum and the Package-Free Larder in Southsea.
But in the midst of the pandemic, this year has been drastically different, with more work being done behind closed doors.
Lissie said: ‘It has been difficult, because a lot of what we usually do is beach cleaning and going into schools.
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Hide Ad‘So we have really been focusing on working behind the scenes, but also going out on really small beach cleans with our families or in groups of six, when that was allowed.
‘Now we are working on educational stuff that can be downloaded from the website – that will hopefully be going online fairly soon – and just trying to make new links remotely.
‘We are proud of how far this has come and what it has turned into. People are really supportive of it and seem keen to protect our environment and our beaches for the future.’
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Hide AdDespite the lockdowns and restrictions that have come with it, the Final Straw Foundation has actually seen an influx of people wishing to volunteer.
This has come in the wake of environmental problems caused by personal protective equipment (PPE) – specifically, face masks being littered in the streets.
Lissie warns that these are often found on the kerb, having been dropped out of cars, but if these are washed into our drains, they end up in the ocean.
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Hide Ad‘As soon as lockdown lifted we started noticing a lot of face masks and disposable gloves washing up from the sea,’ she said.
‘I think it is accidental, but the trouble is we are seeing a lot of it because so many of them are being used on a day-to-day basis.
‘It is difficult getting people to pick up used PPE, because of the risk of it being contaminated.
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Hide Ad‘When we have been encouraging people to go out and do their individual beach cleans, we are urging them to wear gloves and use a litter picker, not to touch their face and use hand sanitiser – because it is more important now than it would be normally.
‘Interestingly we have actually had a lot of people contacting us to volunteer recently, in large part because are noticing the impact on our beaches of disposable face masks and gloves.’
Another initiative that has kept volunteers busy during the many new found hours at home is sewing what are called ‘borrow bags’.
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Hide AdThese are bags that can be made from home and given to local stores for reuse in the aim to reduce the use of plastic carrier bags.
The bags can be handed out to customers who forget to bring their own. They then can be returned to the same shop, other participating stores, or kept for general reuse.
Lissie said: ‘We started it up in Emsworth and Petersfield, where the local shops hold a stock of fabric bags which could be made from pillowcases or duvet covers.
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Hide Ad‘They are made from scrap material, it’s a good way to cut back on single use bags. It gives a nice sense of community with local people making them, local shops selling them and local people using them.’
For those who are unable to get out during lockdown, due to shielding, or don’t have the equipment to go litter picking, there are other things that can be done to support the environment.
Lissie suggests taking small steps in daily life activities to make a much larger impact.
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Hide Ad‘It’s about making fairly small changes in your lifestyle that can make a difference to the amount of plastic waste that you might produce,’ she explained.
‘Particularly being careful about littering and trying to remember to use reusable coffee cups or water bottles.
‘Supermarkets are starting to use mesh bags instead of plastic ones. Just try to go shopping and get stuff without bags – like for fruit and veg.
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Hide Ad‘You don’t have to be out there cleaning your streets and beaches but make a few changes you’ll find your bin is not as full anymore. It is quite satisfying to know you’re not contributing to the waste that is produced.’
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