The future of life on earth depends on our ability to take action
Sir David Attenborough
Our blog posts aim to provide more detailed information about some of the most common topics related to reducing plastic at home, at work, in schools or generally in the community. If you would like to contribute to our blogs, please get in touch.
- Pre-Loved Clothes for Special Occasions
Summer is the season for weddings, school proms, parties and going out. Recent fashion management graduate Emily Zandt-Valentine tells us about dressing up for that special occasion with pre-loved and nearly new garments and accessories. The environmental impact of many industries is … Read more - The Harsh Realities of Waste and Recycling
In this article, we briefly look inside a Materials Recovery Facility and hear about the impressive recycling stats achieved by the conscientious citizens of the Stroud district. In sharp contrast, we also find out how a fifth of our waste is being dumped … Read more - Using Surplus & Waste for Crafts and Play
The Gloucester GRC Scrapstore – where nothing goes to waste – is essentially a warehouse full of very well organised scraps and surplus materials, haberdashery and art materials. Here you can find textiles, paints, card, wool, clay, beads and all manner of … Read more - Stroud District Action on Plastic Volunteers Receive the Queen’s Award
We are very happy to announce that Stroud District Action on Plastic have been awarded the 2022 Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service for outstanding work in the community. The community volunteer action group was nominated by Stroud Mayor Kevin Cranston and received letters of … Read more - Global Plastic Treaty to End Plastic Pollution
“Today marks a triumph by planet earth over single-use plastics. This is the most significant environmental multilateral deal since the Paris accord. It is an insurance policy for this generation and future ones, so they may live with plastic and not be … Read more - A Joyous People-led Movement
A new report published by the charity and grassroots climate movement The JUMP found that citizens have direct influence over 27% of the emissions savings needed by 2030 to avoid ecological meltdown. This means that individuals have more agency over the climate … Read more - Christmas Without Waste
Do you want a Holiday Season without piles of packaging and bins stacked high with recycling and rubbish? Here are some great ideas for cutting out packaging and making the festivities more sustainable all round. Our mantra is ‘plan ahead and keep … Read more - Small Steps to Less Waste
‘The main takeaway from this book? That all of these changes, rather than diminishing us, actually make our lives fuller, richer, better connected and more purposeful. Wave farewell to plastic and discover a world of ingenuity and creativity!’—Rob Hopkins, founder of the … Read more - We Are The (plastic free) Champions
I’ve borrowed this title from a Surfers Against Sewage post that highlights way in which teams and venues around the UK are reducing single use plastic in sport. There’s a surprising amount of single use plastic in the world of sport, but … Read more - How to Clean your Home Plastic-Free
For many households, the cleaning cupboard is one of the biggest sources of waste plastic, whether it comes from spray bottles, cloths or plastic-based wipes. But you can clean your home plastic free, and if you’re looking to take action on plastic … Read more - How to Parent Plastic-Free
Our blog on plastic free with a baby gives tips for how to tackle nappies, wipes and bottles, but as a parent of older children, you’ll probably find yourself fighting a rising tide of plastic in the form of toys, clothing fabrics, … Read more - Beyond Fast Fashion – how to dress plastic free
The fashion industry’s poor environmental credentials are well known now, but there are some fantastic exceptions, and also some ways that you can shop differently to minimise the plastic waste from your wardrobe. And before thinking of how to shop plastic free, … Read more - How to Shop at Your Local Zero Waste Shop
Buying loose goods is one of the best ways to make serious inroads into the single use plastic coming into your home, and it’s brilliant to see that zero waste/plastic free shops – where you can do just that – are springing … Read more - Plastic Free With a Baby
Parents-to-be are bombarded on all sides with marketing about the “stuff” they must have for their impending arrival, much of it plastic based. Even if you can resist that pressure, the conventional baby necessities – in particular, disposable nappies and wipes – … Read more - Why Should We Try to Live Plastic Free?
Why should we try and live plastic free? What’s the problem with the stuff? Isn’t it essential to modern life? These are questions we are often asked. Plastic was touted as “the stuff of alchemy” by philosopher Roland Barthes in the middle … Read more - A Plastic Free Garden – it can be done
For a green-fingered nation, we certainly throw a lot of plastic at our gardens (and our allotments, balcony pots, window boxes…and so on). This is not just unsightly – much of this plastic is disposable, with an environmental cost that far outweighs … Read more - The Future’s Not in Plastics
Plastics impose a massive untaxed externality upon society which the new Carbon Tracker report estimates at about $1,000 per tonne ($350bn a year) from carbon dioxide, health costs, collection costs, and ocean pollution. 40% of plastic waste ends up in the environment, … Read more - #RethinkPeriods – Could Your School Get Involved?
New study shows a pack of conventional period pads contains the equivalent amount of plastic as 5 carrier bags, and the average menstruator has over 450 periods over a lifetime – that’s a lot of damaging plastic waste! So how can we have plastic free periods? These … Read more - How to organise a litter pick
Please note: when organising a litter pick make sure your plans are in accordance with local Covid-19 Tier restrictions Perhaps you’re planning to organise a litter pick as part of your Surfers Against Sewage Plastic Free Community programme, perhaps you want to … Read more - The Sheer Scale of Plastic Waste, and the Future…
Plastic waste began to generate serious news coverage in the wake of the Blue Planet II documentary series in 2017, but not everyone is yet aware of the sheer scale of the problem. ‘Breaking the Plastic Wave’ is a new 2020 report … Read more - Cutting Down Plastic in the Kitchen
If you look over your black bin and recycling, the chances are that much of the single use plastic derives from the kitchen, so it’s full of opportunity if you’re ready to make some swaps, and making your own is a great … Read more - Plastics and Climate Change are Linked
The scourge of marine and waterway plastic pollution has (rightly) been a focus of attention for some years now, but less well known are the vast climate impacts of the plastics industry. ‘Plastics and Climate: The Hidden Costs of a Plastic Planet’ … Read more