Agenda item

Cllr H Rhodes

Non-Key Decision

Councillor H Rhodes, Cabinet Member: Parks, Green Spaces & The Natural Environment presented the report of the Assistant Director: Commercial Services which set out progress to date in reducing single-use plastic from the Council’s operations and activities and sought approval of an action plan setting out how the Council would make further improvements over the next year.

Members were aware that plastic was an extremely useful material due to its versatility, durability, cheapness and availability. However, 50% of the plastic produced was used only once and these single-use plastics had a high environmental impact.  Pollution caused by single-use plastics has become an increasingly topical issue and was now starting to form part of Government policy.  In addition, there were a growing number of villages, towns and cities that had reduced the use of avoidable single-use plastics in their community and had been recognised as plastic free communities by Surfers against Sewage.  Becoming a plastic free community was not about removing all plastic, but rather it was focused on avoidable single-use plastics (eg plastic bottles, coffee cups, lids, cutlery, straws, bags, condiment sachets, bathroom plastics and balloons). 

A direct link between plastic pollution and climate change had been identified and so the Council had resolved, at its meeting on 25 July 2019, to support the Plastic Free Communities Campaign and declared a climate change emergency.  Building on this motion, the Council’s strategy was divided into two main parts: Single-Use Plastic Free Council and Single-Use Plastic Free Community.  The report set out the progress towards each part including the progress that had been made to reduce and remove single-use plastics from the Council’s operations and activities and detailed some of the work that local organisations were already doing to address the issue. 

The Council’s aspired for Telford & Wrekin to become a recognised, certified Plastic Free Community, in accordance with the Surfer’s against Sewage framework which would involve evidencing that five objectives (set out in the report) had been met.   In order to deliver on these objectives, it was proposed to establish a Task Force which would ensure that future plans were community-led in order to achieve the ultimate goal of becoming a Plastic Free Community.  The aims and initial membership of the proposed task force were detailed in the report.  Since publication of the report, Wellington Town Council had indicated that they wanted to join the Task Force.  It was proposed that the first meeting would take place in late September 2019 when Terms of Reference would be agreed with taskforce members.  Since

The report and positive actions which had already taken place was applauded and it was noted that the Council needed to be a pioneering organisation to set an example for other organisations in the borough and trigger individual action.  There were clear links to procurement. 

The fantastic work that had taken place in Newport, Madeley and Wellington was recognised and thanks were expressed to the passionate staff who were involved in the plastic free drive and for who this was not a part of their core role.

RESOLVED that –

(a)  progress to date with reducing single-use plastics from the Council’s operations and activities and approves the action plan as set out in Appendix 1 to the report be noted; and

(b)  the proposal to establish a community taskforce as set out in Section 4 of the report be approved.