Love Essex asks you to make a difference and take the plastic pledge

Local authorities have come together to do their bit for our planet and are encouraging residents to join them and 'Love Essex, Not Plastic'.

The Essex-wide 2020 campaign aims to tackle the amount of waste across the country by highlighting the issue of single-use plastic and urging households to switch to reusable options and to recycle more.

The campaign launches today, 6 January, with adverts on Heart Radio and social media inspiring Essex residents to make a New Year's Resolution and say no to single-use plastic by taking the Love Essex Plastic Pledge. Throughout the year, there will be easy swap ideas such as ditching single-use plastic cups, bottles, straws and bags - switching to reusable ones instead. By focusing on one item every month and making one small change at a time, together we can make a difference.

Each year, around 400 million tonnes of plastic is produced and 40% of that is single-use plastic such as drinks bottles, carrier bags and coffee cups. However, in the UK, only 57% of plastic bottles are collected to be recycled.
Councillor Jude Deakin, Cabinet Member for Safer Chelmsford, said, "Last summer, Chelmsford City Council declared not only a climate emergency, but a climate and ecological emergency. The damage that human beings are inflicting on our planet is serious and if we do not act now, it will soon be irreversible. Our rivers, seas and oceans are choking in plastic that, in many cases, doesn't even need to be produced.

"We are changing the Council's own activities to achieve net-zero carbon emissions and eliminate single-use plastics, and are encouraging others to do the same. We are all together in this, so please join us and make your own pledge today."

If you want to be a part of the Love Essex plastic solution, take the Essex Plastic Pledge at http://www.loveessex.org/plasticpledge