Bristol campaigners celebrate plastic ban success

A ban on the most polluting single-use plastics came into effect across England on Sunday, October 1.

Bristol’s City to Sea were behind the campaign to ban the items which include polystyrene, cutlery and plastic plates.

The environmental organisation has been pushing for the ban since 2020, garnering 118,000 signatures on a petition and an unprecedented 50,000 supportive responses to Defra’s consultation on the ban.

England’s plastics ban follows policy change implemented across Europe in 2019 which banned a much longer list of items.

City to Sea campaigned with Greenpeace and 38 Degrees for the single-use plastics ban – photo: City to Sea

“This ban is a really exciting step,” says Steve Hynd, City to Sea’s policy manager.

“We’re really proud of our supporters who backed this campaign and it’s a huge achievement.

“It’s going to have a real impact in reducing billions of items of single-use plastic. But it’s only a drop in a very plastic-polluted ocean until we get more government action. We need an 80 per cent reduction in all plastic.”

City to Sea was founded in 2015 to slow down plastic bottle purchases by promoting free water refills in cafes.

Eight years later and their refill campaign has been translated into nine languages and saves over 100m plastic bottles a year from landfill.

The latest campaign builds on the organisation’s success in eliminating plastic cotton buds from shops.

Founder Natalie Fee realised the hundreds of tiny plastic sticks she was finding when walking on the banks of the River Avon were cotton bud sticks that had been flushed, ending up in waterways.

This inspired the 2016 ‘Switch the Stick‘ campaign which convinced nine major retailers to stop selling single-use plastic cotton buds, saving 478 tonnes of plastic per year – amounting to almost 1000 tonnes of plastic eliminated before the government implemented a nationwide ban four years later.

Prior to the campaign, cotton buds were consistently in the top ten items found on beach cleans, “but now they’ve slipped right off,” says Steve.

“So while the plastic crisis has worsened, this shows that campaigns work and can have real, tangible impact.”

Steve campaigning outside number 10 – photo: City to Sea

Campaigners recognise there’s a long way to go.

“This is the bare minimum of what should be happening,” says Steve.

“One of our core messages is that the plastic crisis is still getting worse. This is just a tiny step on a much longer journey. We need government to do more.”

City to Sea is calling for a plastic reduction target, and for 30 per cent of packaging on the market to be reusable by 2030.

This requires legislation from government which will give private sector the confidence to invest in the necessary infrastructure and research to make the transition.

“But almost the opposite is happening,” says Steve, “In that this ban is coming in in the context of really important environmental legislation being watered down and delayed, giving the opposite of the confidence that the private sector needs.”

He looks to France, who this year brought in a ban of all single-use packaging in dine-in settings, meaning even fast food will be served in reusable containers.

“It’s a policy that fundamentally shifts our understanding of how we see packaging, shifting away from the single-use throwaway model to one of reuse,” he says.

City to Sea’s innovative cup reuse scheme is being implemented in cafes across the city, such as the Tincan Coffee Co on North Street where this sign was spotted – photo: Ursula Billington

City to Sea is piloting an innovative coffee cup return scheme, using an app and QR code instead of the usual financial deposit, and with independent cafes all over Bristol involved to make it easier for people to return cups where convenient.

“We’re really hoping this model, pioneered in Bristol, can be scalable to other cities around the country,” Steve tells Bristol 24/7.

“The reuse space in general needs innovation and market testing, and I think a city like Bristol can and does lead the way. Regionalising it could be an exciting next step.

“In a few months we’ll be launching a guide to share our learnings from the pilot. That’s a really cool way that we as a city can lead – we’re a real-world laboratory.”

This piece of independent journalism is supported by The Extra Mile and the Bristol24/7 public and business membership.

Main photo: City to Sea

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