Reward scheme launched for Honiton businesses doing away with plastic
Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto - Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
Certificates will be issued to two Honiton businesses which have made efforts to cut the amount of plastics they use day-to-day.
Porkies, in New Street, and High Street-based eatery Boston Tea Party will both receive the accolade from Honiton Town Council’s environment and plastics working group.
Councillor Caroline Kolek has been an avid supporter of cutting down on the amount of single-use plastics in the town, and hopes recognising businesses which have made a change would inspire more to do so.
She said: “It is really important for our children, grandchildren and the world around us.
“Ninety-one per cent of all plastics that have ever been produced have never been recycled - we are seeing images of plastic in the sea.
You may also want to watch:
“We have to come to a point where we have to say we cannot go on. We are being really selfish by saying ‘It’s convenient and cheap’ - there has got to be a point where planet Earth can not take it any more.”
Honiton Town Council has been exploring ways to reduce the use of plastics in the town after a motion filed by Cllr Kolek at a meeting in October 2017 was passed. Since then, Porkies owner Laurie Spencer has replaced plastic products with paper, even though the cost is higher.
Most Read
- 1 Honiton's Freya gets the chop for the Little Princess Trust
- 2 New contractors to roll out fibre broadband across South West
- 3 Virtual start to 2021 season for Axe Valley Runners
- 4 Parent+ Support Hub receives special thanks from Co-op
- 5 Deal struck on Cranbrook town centre
- 6 Grassroots sport under the Lords microscope
- 7 "Whoever you are, the county council will almost certainly play some role in your everyday life"
- 8 How would you feel about giving up your car?
- 9 Lockdown services in Lyme Regis
- 10 Devon Air Ambulance team looks back on 2020
Mr Spencer cites his daughter’s future as the main reason for the switch, and urged other businesses to look ahead to protect future generations.
He also decided to shoulder the extra cost so his customers would not have to incur it.
Boston Tea Party also revealed plans to ban disposable coffee cups in its cafes.
Instead, the chain teamed up with Ecoffee, which makes re-usable coffee cups from natural bamboo fibre, to sell their products at a subsidised rate.
The move drew praise from Cllr Kolek at the time, who said it was ‘imperative’ that Honiton’s community comes together to address the town’s growing plastic problem.
According to Greenpeace, an estimated 12.7 million tonnes of plastic – everything from plastic bottles and bags to microbeads – end up in the world’s oceans each year - the equivalent of a truck-load of rubbish per minute.
The charity is continuing to call on big corporations to act to reduce their plastic footprint as part of a worldwide campaign to end the flow of plastic into oceans.
