“Plastic is actually a wonderful material: waterproof, airtight and long lasting. Using is as single-use packaging that lasts forever is a mistake.”

Laura Ford, Plastic Free Peckham Founder

Plastic Free Peckham case study, 2018-2023

Introduction

80,000,000 pieces of plastic pollution enter our oceans every day, and 112,000 pieces of plastic packaging leave UK supermarkets every minute. We joined the fight against single use plastic with a two pronged attack - removing it from our precious green spaces and tackling it at source.

We used the campaign framework for community engagement by marine conservation charity Surfers Against Sewage and we’re part of the Plastic Free Communities initiative - a network of 800 communities across the UK working towards Plastic Free Community status.

Our Goal: To help local SMEs (small and medium enterprises), schools and Southwark Council to remove single use plastic from their day to day.

Special thanks to Southwark Council, the Aviva Community Fund and Pexmas for funding and support throughout.

We worked with SMEs to remove single use plastic from their business activities

Method

We delivered talks in schools to educate our young people about how to stop using single use plastics

We supported Southwark Council in the development of their single use plastic reduction strategy

We arranged regular events with volunteering opportunities for the local community

“Primary aged kids always come up with such brilliant ideas – they’re so well informed and come up with really good suggestions.”

Results

Between 2018 and 2022 we signed up 15 local businesses as plastic-free champions, delivered 7 assemblies to local schools and showed them how to gain plastic-free schools accreditation. We organised 7 community clean-ups, inspiring 250 members of the community to volunteer!

We are very grateful to Southwark Council for their engagement and enthusiasm. The council supported a motion for Plastic Free Communities, and together we developed their single use plastic reduction strategy.

Our work was recognised with a Sustainable Green Investment Award, at the Southwark Business Resilience Awards, 2021

“Reduce, reuse, recycle’ means we reduce and reuse first and foremost. Recycling should be seen as a last resort”

Our local business champions