Buxton campaigners say war on plastic is not over after receiving award

Environmentalists in Buxton say their journey on eradicating plastic is not over - despite just being recognised for their hard work.

Buxton has been awarded Plastic Free Community Status by Surfers Against Sewage (SAS). It's the first town in the High Peak to receive the award.

Transition Buxton led the process, with over fifty businesses, schools and community groups, along with the Borough Council, all pro-actively supporting the effort. Each Plastic Champion committed to eliminating at least 3 items of single use plastic from their operation.

One such project saw young people at Buxton Community School work out that a million single-use bottles were used and thrown away in the school each year. The school now has water fountains, and no plastic bottles are sold or used in the school.

Transition Buxton is encouraging people to take individual action to reduce their own single use plastic, as research shows:

• less than 9% of plastic is currently recycled in the UK

• 50% of plastic produced is designed to be used just once

• 10 million tons of plastic reaches the oceans every year

"Less pollution, less use of finite resources, and less emissions are good for everyone, and everyone needs to make an effort", the group said.

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