The journey towards Godalming becoming a Plastic Free Community started on 1st July 2019.
As explained on the Plastic Pollution page, plastic is slowly killing fish, sea birds and other creatures that live in our oceans and seas. It’s not helping land-based birds and animals either. It’s also making Climate Change worse.
Members of Greener Godalming care about wildlife and sea creatures and also want a healthy environment to live in themselves. We don’t know what microparticles of plastic are doing to us, but they are everywhere and could be in every mouthful we eat and drink and even in the air we breath. We do know that we all depend on a healthy wildlife and natural environment for our own health and well-being. This is why we want Godalming to become part of the Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) network of Plastic Free Communities reducing the amount of single use plastic sold in our town. We hope you will join us on this exciting journey.
The Plastic Free Community initiative aims to free where we live from single-use. Surfers Against Sewage say:
Together we’re tackling avoidable, throwaway plastic, from our beaches, rivers and green spaces all the way back to the brands and businesses who create it. It’s not about removing all plastic from our lives. It’s about kicking our addiction to single-use plastic and changing the system that produces it.
So we’re on a journey! Being a Plastic Free Community does not mean there is no plastic. Being a Plastic Free Community means you are starting work to turn the tide on plastic pollution. It means you are pulling together different aspects of your community; collaborating and including everyone to bring about the culture change we need to see.
You are also part of a national network of communities all doing the same, backed up by the national campaigns and actions of Surfers Against Sewage. That’s pretty awesome!
Together we can do this… and we are proud to have you and your community on board.
In order for us to be recognised as a Plastic Free Community we need to do certain things:
OBJECTIVE 1: LOCAL GOVERNANCE
Local council passes a resolution supporting the journey to Plastic Free Community status. – The council have been approached about this.
OBJECTIVE 2: RESISTANCE HUBS – LOCAL BUSINESSES
Work with businesses in your community to help them reduce single-use plastics. – The process of finding out who they might be has begun.
OBJECTIVE 3: PLASTIC FREE ALLIES
Inspire the wider community to spread the plastic-free message. – We are working on discovering who these might be.
OBJECTIVE 4: PLASTIC FREE RALLIES
Mobilise your community. Hold a clean-up, mass unwrap or other events to raise awareness. – Plans are being hatched.
OBJECTIVE 5: SET UP A STEERING GROUP
Form a group of local stakeholders and meet at least twice a year to take your community campaign forward. – We’re working towards this, too.
We’ll be ready to submit
when we have gathered evidence of how our local area has met its objectives. Then it will be time to apply for Official Plastic Free Community status.
Greener Godalming 