Councillor joins plastic pledge
ACOUNCILLOR who took on a two-week challenge to reduce his plastic waste is urging others to do the same.
Town councillor Gareth Jones was challenged alongside the Town Council’s community engagement and events officer Helena Gowler as part of the Macc-tastic Less Plastic event at the Barnaby Festival, which was set up to help educate people about the reducing the amount of single-use plastic.
He said he was shocked by the amount he amassed during the trial, with recyclable coffee cups, plastic water bottles and meat packaging as the highest offenders.
Coun Jones, who lives with his wife in Maccles- field and represents Tytherington, said: “For two weeks I didn’t put anything in the recycling bin and kept everything separate.
“The first week I went through it to see what was ‘single use’, and the second week I made an effort to reduce it.
“It was a real eyeopener. I drink a lot of fizzy water so there were lots of bottles in there, and there were a lot of plastic containers from our milk.
“But both of those things could easily be changed by getting a soda stream and getting our milk in glass bottles.
“It’s simple small choices which make such a big difference.”
For the first week the pair collected all their recycling without changing their habits, and for a second week they avoided any plastic which is deemed single use, instead using tupperware and paper bags.
Gareth added: “We recycle a lot, but we should be reducing as well, and this challenge was a perfect way of showing that. I’ve challenged the other councillors to do the same and so far most of them seem keen. I think it’s an important exercise because you can physically see how much would be wasted.
“Usually it goes to the recycling and it’s forgotten about. But by doing this simple test you can see exactly how much you use, and what your sticking points are”.
Macclesfield Town Council is also getting behind the ‘plastic pledge’ and handed out free reusable water bottles and reusable beeswax wraps - an eco-friendly version of clingfilm - during the festival.
The council is also hoping to stop using envelopes with plastic windows in.
Lynne Jones, who helped organised the Macc-Tastic Less Plastic event, said the idea is to raise awareness and promote ways to help residents and businesses reduce the amount of single-use plastics, and in turn, reduce the amount of plastic which ends up in landfill, rivers and oceans.