Plastic Plea

Two petitions with  a single aim – to  reduce plastic waste  in Berkhamsted – are looking for your  support.

The first calls on Waitrose and Tesco to start using compostable bags for loose fruit and vegetables in store.  The second, launched in April, broadens the attack,  asking that Berkhamsted Town Council reduce its plastic  consumption and support efforts to make Berkhamsted  free of single-use plastic by 2020.

The group Plastic-Free Berko is behind these initiatives. It  was started some months ago by Green Party members  Sue Hampton, Philippa Jones, Paul de Hoest and Joe Pitts,  in conjunction with Transition Town Berko.

‘Clearly, cutting plastic use entirely is a huge mountain  to climb,’ said Sue Hampton. ‘Instead, we’re calling for  smaller steps to be taken, such as reducing the use of  non-compostable coffee cups, and fruit and vegetable  bags.’

So far, local businesses have responded positively and  have agreed to look into switching to compostable cups.  Waitrose will ban the use of disposable cups entirely from  this autumn, while Oakman Inns’ response was reported on  page 8 of our Summer issue.

Plastic-Free Berko has many more ideas in the pipeline;  discussions on the possibility of opening a waste-free  scoop shop are in the early stages.

Meanwhile, the campaign needs your support. If you’d  like to fi nd out more go to the Plastic-Free Berko page on  Facebook or look for them on Twitter. You’ll fi nd lots of  simple ideas, including:

• Carrying cloth shopping bags
• Carrying reusable coffee cups
• Buying washable muslin bags to take to  supermarkets for loose fruit and veg
• Ordering fruit and veg from organic farmers
• Finding packaging-free cosmetics.

The paper for Berkhamsted Living is FSC certified. We  are investigating alternatives for the plastic wrap.