#PlasticDetox is a campaign initiated by the Green Team within The Students' Union at UWE. The initiative aims to reduce the amount of plastic used here at UWE Bristol and in the local Bristol community.
#PlasticDetox is a campaign initiated by The Green Team within The Students’ Union at UWE. The initiative aims to reduce the amount of plastic used here at UWE Bristol and in the local Bristol community.
Each year 400 million tonnes of plastic is produced and 40% of it is single-use, meaning it is only used once before being thrown away. As a result, more than 8 million tonnes of plastic enter our oceans each year! This has an extremely harmful impact on marine life and the habitats that they live in. For sea birds and larger marine creatures, the danger comes from being entangled in plastic bags and other debris, or mistaking plastic for food. Larger pieces of plastic can also damage the digestive systems of animals and can be potentially fatal (BBC, 2018). If you have seen the recent Blue Planet documentaries, you will begin to understand the scale of this toxic problem. There is a crucial need to reduce our plastic use to protect our oceans and the species within them.
During 2015/16, The Green Team passed a policy to ban plastic cups from the bar and ban plastic bags from the shop. Matthew (the Project Leader) worked with City to Sea and Frank Water on a project to raise awareness of the detrimental impact of plastic and create artwork taking student pledges. Three separate artworks were created at each campus site by their students (Bower Ashton, Frenchay and Glenside Campus.) Students were asked to sign the #PlasticDetox pact and were given a free reusable water bottle.
During Freshers' 2016 we teamed with Frank Water to print some reusable water bottles. These were printed with facts about the ways plastic is harming the environment and the benefits of reusing a water bottle. They were given out during the Freshers' Fair 2016 to each student who signed up to our mailing list.
Now we are continuing our #PlasticDetox legacy with our campaign in April 2018.
The easiest way to get involved with this project is to cut down on the amount of plastic that you use, invest in a reusable water bottle, and post on social media with the hashtag #PlasticDetox. Talk to your friends about the impact that plastic has on the world. You can join in with a spring clean litter picking session in Stoke Park; or let your hair down at the Lock In Plastic Detox takeover on Saturday and raise awareness for the cause.
Check out our article on the top 10 (easy) plastic-busting tips: https://www.thestudentsunion.co.uk/news/article/15570/10-easy-things-you-can-do-to-reduce-your-plastic-use/
For more information about the campaign and all of the events, head to the webpage: www.thestudentsunion.co.uk/plasticdetox
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43051153