London is a city of many faces; an epicentre of global trade, a cosmopolitan metropolis and now, a city trying to fight against the rising tide of plastic plaguing our planet.
"North London, has become the very first 'low plastic zone' and is hoping to trigger other areas nearby to follow suit."
Tacking Steps To Reduce Plastic PollutionAs a whole, the British capital is notoriously bad at recycling. The way the city divides itself into boroughs means that there is no unified approach to recycling across its 9 million inhabitants, making it very hard to coordinate any sort of concerted recycling efforts. That being said, one street in Islington, North London, has become the very first 'low plastic zone' and is hoping to trigger other areas nearby to follow suit.
Islington Leading The Way In Making London Greeners The North London Waste Authority (NLWA) in partnership with seven London authorities, unveiled the zone in the Cowcross Street area of Islington, near Farringdon. This level of cooperation across jurisdictions is a positive sign in the fight against plastic waste, and it is hoped more schemes like this will come about in the future.
Other Areas To Follow SuitBusinesses interested in the initiative can fill in a 'Charter of Commitment' in which they commit to reducing their use of single-use plastics. After which, NLWA officers will assess where the business can reduce their plastic usage and will help them to try and achieve this. After a few weeks, they will see if the steps taken have been successful and, if so, will then certify the business as low-plastic. Shopping areas within other boroughs that are also looking to take up the environmental mantle and receive Low Plastic Zone Status include, Haringey, Camden, Barnet, Enfield, Hackney and Waltham Forest.
Arsenal FC Top The Table For Green InitiativesIslington seems to be especially good at tackling the issue of single-use plastics with the local Premier League football club also taking up the fight against this pollution. Alongside their local beer supplier, Camden Town Brewery, Arsenal Football Club have introduced a reusable cup scheme at their Emirates stadium.
Arsenal Football ClubThe club now offers beer in reusable cups on matchday, which can then be dropped off at a number of signposted collection points throughout the stadium. This allows for the cups to be used up 200 times with a potential 20,000 cups now being collected each match day, taking half a million cups out of the waste stream each year. Arsenal is an internationally recognised club and has taken other green steps in recent years including removing plastic straws and stirrers from the stadium and sourcing 100% of its energy from renewables.
“Arsenal is an internationally recognised club and has taken other green steps in recent years including removing plastic straws and stirrers from the stadium and sourcing 100% of its energy from renewables"
The Initiative The initiative is a response to the growing issue of plastic pollution and the increase in demand, from consumers, for less plastic packaging. This particular street was awarded its low-plastic status due to the fact over 3/4 of the businesses operating there have 'successfully, and permanently' reduced the single-use plastic they give to their customers, according to the NLWA, with many claiming they will go, yet further!
How My Little Panda Can Help Your Business Be More Eco Friendly As a business with an eco-friendly ideology, with our head office based in London, we are ecstatic to hear that more companies in one of the world's economic hubs are standing up and taking plastic pollution seriously. If you want to do your little bit to reduce single-use plastic, why not check out our biodegradable bamboo range of products and cutlery?
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