Children in action to turn the tide on plastic
As children took to the shoreline for a beach clean yesterday, campaigners have looked back on the hundreds of businesses that have answered the anti-plastic call. DAVID GEORGE reports.
Thousands of lives across the Solent region have been changed for the better by an environmental campaign.
The Final Straw Solent, which is run in association with The News, has seen more than 200 businesses from across the region pledge to step up in the ongoing fight against single-use plastics.
Businesses have changed the way they package products as well as what they order in, and have been passing the message onto
their customers.
Yesterday, as youngsters took to Lee-on-the-Solent’s seafront for a beach clean, the team behind The Final Straw Solent has taken some time to reflect on the rapid growth of their campaign.
Co-founder Lizzie Pollard said: 'It’s amazing to think how many people are involved now.
'But for me it’s the work with children that has been really inspiring – they are really clued up on environmental issues.
‘They then spread the word to their families and the impact continues to spread.’
At the beach clean yesterday, youngsters found a sock, a shoe and even a jellyfish on the shoreline.
Zoe Bentley, who organised the beach clean for Final Straw Solent, enthused: ‘It was a really good event; we had around 30 adults and children turn up which we were really pleased with.
‘There were a lot of cigarette butts on the seafront, as well as the little plastic fish that sushi companies put soy sauce in.
‘It’s so important for us to take responsibility for the environment, but it's children who are more aware of the dangers plastic presents.’