Stay green amid the red, white and blue

The Royal Borough and an environmental group have issued some advice on how to cut down on plastic waste and take care of the environment over the jubilee weekend.

Paul Hinton, community lead for Plastic Free Windsor, said two of the most important things are to pack a refillable water bottle and refillable water cup.

Visitors into town should look out for water fountains or water provided by event organisers.

“There will be facilities around to fill water bottles and a number of businesses around town are happy to fill them – we have got that arrangement with all the Costas in Windsor,” he said.

For street parties, the advice is to have reusable plates and cutlery where possible and avoid disposable paper plates, which have a plastic coating.

Those buying food for the day can also look to avoid buying those with singleuse plastic packaging as much as possible.

Food that can be bought from fresh counters, or loose fruit, will help with this.

“All it requires is a couple of days’ thought in advance,” said Paul.

“It’s easy to go into town on the day and grab things from the supermarket for the picnic but we’d encourage people to give themselves time to make those more sustainable choices.”

He added that it is preferable to prepare some food from home and bring it in reusable containers.

Another option is to take some rubbish home so that it can be recycled, rather than be put in general waste street bins.

“People carry this stuff into town in the first place – it’s not so tricky to take it home again,” he said.

The Royal Borough has posted the following additional advice on its website:

Tablecloths and sheets can be reused, avoid paper or plastic options and save money

Purchase your produce from local suppliers and support your neighbours

Provide plant-based options to reduce the carbon footprint on your plate

Choose biodegradable and recyclable decorations, don’t let them end up in the landfill.

The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee committee has also urged people to avoid driving, use the recycling bins on the Long Walk and not to throw cigarette butts on the land, which can leach chemicals into water supplies.

“Please only use what you need,” the committee added on its website.

“If every visitor used four napkins instead of one, there would be an extra 40,000 napkins wasted unnecessarily.”