Green Party petition signed by 3,495 people calls for Plastic-Free Events in Brighton and Hove.
GREEN councillors push for plastic free events in Brighton and Hove as petition signed by thousands of residents goes to City Council.
The petition, started by Brighton and Hove Green Party, states: “Internationally, each year, over 8 million tonnes of plastic finds its way into our oceans and some of it already turns up on Brighton beach, but the impact is even worse when city events create vast amounts of additional waste such as water bottles from the marathon or disposable plastic glasses during the Festival and Pride. It doesn’t have to be this way. Events should be using alternatives such as stack cup and water refill stations.
“We, the undersigned, call on Brighton & Hove City Council and the organisers and sponsors of the city’s biggest public events to commit to eliminating the use of single-use plastics by 2020 at the latest.”
The request of the petition will now be heard formally at a meeting of Full Council on Thursday, January 31, after the number of signatories received exceeded 1500, the threshold required to trigger a debate in the council chamber.
Green Party Campaigns Coordinator Sarah Nicolls who will present the petition said: “I, and thousands of residents across the city are tired of waking up after major events – which are otherwise brilliant – to find our beloved parks, streets and beaches strewn with plastic that’s been used for all of 30 seconds and then thrown away.
“We want to end the use of Single-Use Plastics altogether, with the exception of a limited number of items which will be required to support the inclusion of people with particular disabilities.
“As the landlord and license-granting body, the Council have the right to stipulate requirements. We also believe it is the Council’s role to support the leaders, like Paddle Round the Pier and crack down on the laggards, who leave our beach looking like a plastic apocalypse”.
The petition coincides with the council’s consultation on outdoor events which asks for residents input on how to improve the Brighton and Hove’s programme of events and in particular focuses on the economic, social and environmental impact on the city.
A spokesperson for Brighton & Hove Pride who run one of the city’s biggest events said: “We are working on a three year sustainability plan which includes initiatives such as reusable cups on the Pride festival sites and encouraging venues within the Pride Village Party footprint to adopt them to. We will be engaging with and encouraging all local businesses to join us in a city wide initiative on sustainability and the reduction of single use plastics. We will be releasing more details on this and targets of the 3 year plan shortly.”
To complete the petition, click here:
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