Eisteddfod joins war on single-use plastics

THE National Eisteddfod is to ban single use plastic from next year.

Its use will also be reduced at this year’s event in Cardiff, following an announcement at the Eisteddfod Council meeting at Aberystwyth to coincide with the #drasticonplastic campaign running this weekend.

Officials have already told stallholders and caterers that plastic straws will be banned at this year’s Eisteddfod in early August.

Organisers are also working with the bar providers, Stedman Brothers, over the banning of single-use glasses and introducing reusable containers which are more environmentally friendly.

The festival is producing reusable coffee and tea cups and water bottles for children.

Eisteddfod chief executive Elfed Roberts called on visitors to support the project and look at their own plastic use when preparing to visit this year’s event. He said: “It’s fair to say we’ve been at the forefront when it comes to recycling for many years, and have worked hard to recycle as much as possible.

“Although we are very grateful to our visitors for helping us to recycle so much over the years, we have been questioning why so many bottles and plastic glasses need to be recycled. By introducing this scheme, we’re going a step further than merely recycling and we’re cutting down on the use of single-use plastic on the Maes, and this will help us to safeguard the environment.

“This is a substantial investment for the bar providers and the Eisteddfod itself, but we strongly feel that we have to tackle the overuse of single-use plastic, and I hope that other festivals in Wales will follow suit in the future. Sustainability is very important to us.”