Pledge to make Chesterfield plastic-free to help save the environment

Chesterfield Liberal Democrats are on board with a green campaign, which aims to take steps to help climate change.

The average home produces 1.1kg of waste every single day.

Households can take some steps to reduce the amount of plastic they buy but it comes down to retailers and producers taking action.

Ed Fordham, Chesterfield Lib Dem spokesperson on climate change, said: “By changing all our shopping habits and by working with retailers, suppliers and manufacturers, Chesterfield can make real progress towards the objective of becoming plastic free.”

As part of the pledge, the councillor is calling on Chesterfield Borough Council to step up and do more for the environment.

He said: “The borough council, as a large organisation that uses resources in the town, must itself reduce the amount of plastic it purchases and require suppliers to move to plastic-free provision.

"The council can lead by example with re-use schemes for garden pots, drinks bottles, and ensure that plastic is not single-use.

"We recognise that retail chains have centralised decision-making processes, but we would urge the local and regional managers of locally-based outlets to start this dialogue and take measures to reduce plastic use and facilitate more sustainable solutions.

"Where there are manufacturers and producers within the borough, we will seek to work with them to support the mission.

"We believe that Chesterfield Borough Council can make a real difference to re-use, re-cycle and massively reduce the amount of plastic this borough sends to landfill and into our eco-system. This will require leadership and partnership.”

A group named Plastic Free Chesterfield is also striving to help the town achieve its eco goals and is asking local organisations to become allies.

Visit www.plasticfreechesterfield.weebly.com.