Council acts to reduce single-use plastics

Cheshire East Council has made a significant commitment to reduce the impact of single-use plastic – and is urging you to do the same.

If you are passionate about waste reduction, Cheshire East will get you connected with like-minded people and team up with our own waste reduction volunteers to make a real contribution to this huge modern problem.

To help make this more manageable, the council, through its wholly-owned waste and recycling company Ansa, has produced a community toolkit to give people handy tips on how they can make a difference.

The campaign is called ‘Life with less plastic’ and is open to anyone to get involved. There are so many ways that the community can reduce their reliance on single use plastic but here are some of the easy wins to get you started:

● The UK uses 8.5 billion plastic straws a year – stop using them and use environmentally-friendly alternatives such as steel and glass straws instead;

● Invest in canvas or cotton bags for your shopping and keep them handy;

● Use a razor with replaceable blades rather than a disposable one; and

● Carry your own drink container with you and refill it instead of purchasing new bottled water.

Why not let us know what you are doing to cut out single use plastic by joining the conversation online at: #lifewithlessplastic

Recycle week starts on Monday and, to celebrate this important recycling date in the calendar, the council is no longer providing plastic cups at its water coolers in all corporate buildings. Staff are required to make their own provision – but this is by no means a one off.

Councillor Glen Williams, Cheshire East Council deputy cabinet member for environment, said: “Reduction of single-use plastic is something that the council is committed to for the long term. Most of us have seen those harrowing images of beautiful sea mammals caught up in plastic and it’s all our collective responsibility to say that enough is enough.”

If you would like to meet like-minded people with a passion for reducing the use of plastic, get in touch by visiting: www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/recycling