Liberal Democrat Council Leaders have added their names to an open letter pledging to take action on plastic waste. Councillor Ruth Dombey, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group and Leader of Sutton Council, who co-ordinated the letter, said: “Liberal Democrat Council leaders are coming together to highlight the issue of single-use plastics, taking steps to lead by example and encouraging residents and local businesses to play their part”.
The letter is below:
We were all haunted by David Attenborough’s recent Blue Planet series that showed the suffering caused to animals and nature by plastic waste that ends up in our rivers and oceans.
300 million tons of new plastic is made each year – half of which is used just once before being thrown away. Plastics are durable and they can last for 600 years.
The Conservative Government is sitting on its hands and says it will not eliminate avoidable plastic waste until 2042. Local councils can and should do something positive now to show how we can all make a difference by thinking locally and acting globally.
Liberal Democrats in Government pushed successfully for the plastic bag levy which has led to a 85% drop in disposable bag usage. As the leaders of Liberal Democrat-run councils across England, we are coming together to highlight the issue of single-use plastics, taking steps to lead by example and encouraging residents and local businesses to play their part.
We will undertake to encourage the following actions –
- replace single-use plastics with sustainable or reusable alternatives where possible.
- inform the public about plastic waste through local campaigns.
- encourage local businesses to reduce the amount of plastic waste they produce.
- support shops and supermarkets that introduce ‘plastic free aisles.’
- champion re-usable water bottles and places to re-fill for free.
- where reduction and re-use isn’t possible, reduce plastic by increasing the options for plastic recycling.
For one person to tackle the big environmental challenges can sometimes seem overwhelming. But local councils can lead by example. Together our Liberal Democrat-run councils represent hundreds of thousands of people. If all councils followed our example, we could make a huge difference to reducing the mountain of plastics in our seas.
Cllr Ruth Dombey, Leader of the London Borough of Sutton, Civic Offices, St Nicholas Way, Sutton, SM1 1EA,
and 16 others:
Mayor Dave Hodgson, Directly Elected Mayor, Bedford Borough Council
Cllr Keith House, Leader, Eastleigh Borough Council
Cllr Liz Green, Leader, Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
Cllr John Boyce, Leader, Oadby and Wigston Borough Council
Cllr Gareth Roberts, Leader, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
Cllr Bridget Smith, Leader, South Cambridgeshire District Council
Cllr Giles Archibald, Leader, South Lakeland District Council
Cllr Sara Bedford, Leader, Three Rivers District Council
Cllr David Neighbour, Leader, Hart District Council
Mayor Peter Taylor, Directly Elected Mayor, Watford Borough Council
Cllr Mark Cory, Leader, Colchester Borough Council
Cllr Adele Morris, Liberal Democrat Environment Spokesperson, Local Government Association
Cllr Jo Roundell Greene, Deputy Leader of South Somerset District Council and lead member for waste and recycling
Cllr David Tutt, Leader, Eastbourne Borough Council
Cllr Steve Jordan, Leader, Cheltenham Borough Council
Cllr Adam Paynter, Leader, Cornwall Council
Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson, Leader, Portsmouth City Council