Why the University of Portsmouth is ditching single-use plastics for good

Forming a partnership with The Final Straw Solent, a campaign run in association with The News, the university has pledged to spread awareness of how entrenched plastic waste has become in our society.

The university has not only ditched plastic straws, cutlery and bottles, but has put pressure on catering suppliers to abandon any unnecessary plastic packaging and offered incentives for buying reusable coffee cups around the campus.

Co-founder of The Final Straw Solent, Bianca Carr, said: '˜It's an enormous step forward for universities all over the UK, and not just the south coast.

'˜By having the University of Portsmouth showcasing their dedication to sustainability and their commitment to ocean health this could be a turning point for all universities to use this as a blueprint for their students to follow.

'˜Portsmouth and the south coast are leading the way and we are honoured to be linked with them, we want everybody to know how important the environment is to them, and we hope it inspires more colleges, schools and universities to make the change and reduce their single use plastic use.'

The announcement comes following The News, The Final Straw Solent and the Marine Conservation Society's Great Solent Beach Clean, which saw hundreds of people descend on beaches across the area for the largest ever beach clean in the Solent.

With hundreds of businesses and organisations already partnered up with The Final Straw Solent's campaign, others are being encouraged to do their part to tidy up their local environment.

For more information about The Final Straw Solent, go to finalstrawsolent.org