Single-use plastic initiative launches in St Andrews

The project aims to make St Andrews the first single-use plastic free town, and is being led by the St Andrews Environmental Network (STAndEN) in partnership with the Environmental Office of the University of St Andrews and Transition UStA.

The ‘Towards a plastic free St Andrews’ initiative was launched in the town recently, as a means of introducing the project to the wider community.

Daphne Biliouri-Grant, an ambassador for StAndEN and the community leader for St Andrews on behalf of Surfers Against Sewage, and Jane Kell, manager of StAndEN, were “thrilled to see the positive response that it has attracted” and estimated that 252 people got involved on the day.

The launch was packed with activities. There was an extensive display of infographics regarding the impact of plastic pollution, and suggestions on how to implement alternative products to single-use plastics; a couple of workshops were held on how to make your own beeswax wraps as alternative packaging and how best to reuse plastic containers.

There was also an area with kids’ activities aimed at teaching children about plastic pollution and what they can do to go plastic free. A representative from Plastic Free Anstruther talked about the impact of plastic pollution on our oceans and efforts being made by environmental groups to deal with the issue.

One element of the ‘Towards a plastic free St Andrews’ project is focusing on encouraging businesses in the town to reduce single-use plastic.

Ms Biliouri-Grant has been working with several local businesses in St Andrews to help them become plastic free champions.

She organised an awards ceremony where a number of local businesses were recognised for their efforts in trying to minimise the use of single-use plastics within their premises. This awards ceremony was the result of extensive work with numerous businesses in the food and drinks sector in St Andrews one of the biggest users of single-use plastics.

The businesses that were recognised for their efforts so far were: The Golf Museum Café, The Cheesy Toast Shack, The Cottage Garden, Cromars, Combini Co., Costa Coffee, and St Andrews Brewing Company.

A beach clean will be held on East Sands tomorrow (Saturday). Meet at 9am at the harbour.