2018

Latest News

Plastic Free Council

Date Posted: 2:56 PM on Fri, 2 February 2018

Councillors from Gedling Borough Council unanimously approved a motion at Full Council on Wednesday to become one of the first Plastic Clever Councils in the country supported by a speech to Councillors from local children Amy and Ella Meek, who founded Kids against Plastic, a campaign launched to reduce the damage to our planet caused by unnecessary plastic.

The motion sets out a number of initiatives to phase out the use of single use plastics in council owned buildings including leisure centres, community centres and the civic centre. Some of the initiatives set out in the motion include;

  • Phasing out (with a view to ending) all sales of single plastic use bottles in Gedling Borough Council owned buildings.
  • Phasing out the use of single use plastic products starting with disposable cups, cutlery and drinking straws in all council buildings.
  • Replacing single use plastic cups with reusable deposit scheme cups at all council run events including the Arnold Carnival.
  • Launch an annual plastic free challenge to encourage councillors, employees, residents, organisations and businesses in the borough to reduce the use of plastic.
  • Promoting the Kids against Plastic campaign through the council’s waste services lorries and other communications channels, to raise awareness of the work they are doing to reduce single use plastic.
  • A strategy will also be created by officers to encourage the borough’s institutions, businesses and residents to adopt similar measures.

Amy and Ella Meek launched the Kids Against Plastic scheme in 2015 with a target to collect 100,000 pieces of plastic after learning the negative effect of plastic on the environment. They contacted the council and local MP, Vernon Coaker at the end of 2017 asking them to support their scheme to reduce the number of single use plastics. They spoke to Councillors at the meeting this and encouraged them to approve the motion and become a Plastic Clever Council.

Plans are also in place for a spring clean in March with a focus on collecting plastics to go towards the Kids against Plastic target of collecting 100,000 pieces of plastic.

Leader of Gedling Borough Council, Councillor John Clarke said;

“I am very proud of this motion which will be presented to councillors this evening to make Gedling Borough Council a Plastic Clever Council. We are committed to becoming one of the first councils to reduce and eventually remove the use of single use plastics in our organisation. We will also encourage our businesses and residents to reduce their use of plastic, working with campaigners like Amy and Ella, who are doing a fantastic job of raising awareness of this very important issue. ”