Five mosaics depicting herbs and wildlife have appeared on the wall of a planter outside Lady Bay Post Office in West Bridgford.
The mosaics are the work of naturalist and artist Jenny Craig and were commissioned to celebrate the awarding of “Plastic Free Communities” status to Lady Bay by marine conservation charity Surfers Against Sewage.
The award recognises the work done in Lady Bay to start reducing the impact of single-use plastic on the environment.
Rushcliffe Councillor Sue Mallender, who has been committed to reducing waste for many years, started the campaign in Lady Bay. The group works with local businesses, organisations and community groups to spread the word and minimise the amount of disposable plastic they use.
Each Community Group Ally and Business Champion chooses to eliminate three items of single-use plastic. We have a real mix of people of all ages, from Little Friends and Lady Bay Preschool, through primary school and Beavers and Brownies, through Guides and Scouts, all the way to adult choirs—both tuneful and “tuneless”—a music café at the pub, a café at the church, and we have gardeners and tree planters.
The most popular pledges are for refilling bottles. These can be bottles for water, returnable milk bottles, shower gel, shampoo, soap, cleaning products—you name it. Lady Bayers are on to it.
Many are buying loose fruit and veg, as well as refills from the Good Weigh.
Community Lead Monica Pallis said:
“We acknowledge that we are only at the start of a journey to eliminate plastic waste. Plastic production is set to double by 2040 globally, so it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the enormity of the problem.
“But there is a lot that can be done locally, and first adopters of lifestyle changes can have a big influence.
“We will continue to support, inform and encourage local groups and businesses to reduce plastic, as Surfers Against Sewage have supported, informed and encouraged us.”
The Surfers Against Sewage Plastic Free Community network aims to free the places where we live from single-use. The aim is to empower communities to kick-start local grassroots action, which can then be built upon.
The marine conservation charity, based in St Agnes in Cornwall, says it wants to unite communities to tackle avoidable plastic from the beach all the way back to the brands and businesses who create it. It says it is not about removing all plastic from our lives, but kicking our addiction to throwaway plastic and changing the system that produces it.
