This shows we really can change things

‘Today is a good day’, Fiona Hewer told the December 17 cabinet meeting.

The chair of Wild Maidenhead was right. Cabinet went on to approve the council’s climate and environment strategy, and to endorse our proposed RBWM single use plastic strategy.

The list of people who deserve our thanks is long. With regard to the plastic strategy in particular, thanks are due to Jessica Reid and Phil Norris who spent the first lockdown writing the document and tolerating my numerous editorial interventions; to Councillor Donna Stimson who successfully championed the strategy from submission through to endorsement with her usual enthusiasm; to the officers of the sustainability team who clearly saw the route to adoption at our very first meeting, and achieved it by exactly that route; and to the councillors from all parties who lobbied and supported our efforts, in particular to Councillor Andrew Johnson for his support throughout.

I’d also like to thank Fiona and the other stakeholders – particularly Mike Copland, Dave Scarbrough and Susy Shearer – who provided help whenever I asked for it, despite having their own campaigns, the public consultation, and life competing for their time.

Last, but nowhere near least, I’d like to thank the followers and supporters of Plastic Free Windsor, Plastic Free Maidenhead, Filling Good, and the other environmental groups in the borough, who successfully lobbied councillors to adopt the plastic strategy, in response to a communication plan implemented by our own superb volunteers.

If I’ve learnt one thing this year, it’s that if we, the community, can find our collective voice, we can make a difference. We can change things and we can get things done.

If the council and the community can work together, there’s no limit.

I’m looking forward to next year, which will be even harder as we begin implementation of both strategies, and to achieving even more, together, as our collective voice gets louder.

PAUL HINTON Plastic Free Windsor