Plastic Free Flowers
WE ARE NOW PLASTIC FREE ON ALL POSTAL FLOWERS
This is to help save the planet, we hope you agree
Thank you
We are part of Plastic Free Scilly.
https://www.ios-wildlifetrust.org.uk/plastic-free-scilly
SAVING SOME 100,000 PLUS SINGLE USE PLASTIC PIECES
What is...?
Plastic Free Scilly
Where has Plastic Free Scilly come from ?
Plastic Free Coastlines is a national project, co-ordinated by Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) in response to Wasteland; their campaign which brings to life the very real concerns about the amount of plastic in the marine environment.
Lots of individuals and businesses are already doing their bit and it’s something that we,
as a community, really should be proud of and shouting about, whilst recognising that we can still do more.
Plastic Free Scilly was born out of this and it is the hope of the Isles of Scilly Wildlife
Trust, that we will go above and beyond the objectives of Plastic Free Coastlines.
What do we mean by Plastic Free Scilly?
Plastic is an intrinsic part of our everyday lives and removing it completely is incredibly difficult; that would be the ultimate end goal but at this point in time is probably highly unrealistic.
So, to start, we reduce the amount of Single-Use Plastic brought in, used and disposed of in Scilly: in some cases we can control this in others it’s much harder... There is no harm in contacting suppliers and asking them to reconsider their packaging or asking if they
will accept it back for re-purposing/recycling.
https://www.ios-wildlifetrust.org.uk/plastic-free-scilly
Why should we look to reduce, or cut out, Single-Use Plastics?
Approximately 80% of Marine Debris comes from Land-Based Sources (i.e. not off of ships);
Approximately 95% of Marine Debris is plastic;
Every year approximately 10 MILLION TONS of plastic ends up in our ocean;
It’s estimated that what we see washed ashore is only 20 – 30% of what’s in the ocean;
Since the UK plastic bag levy came into effect from 2011 (Wales) – 2015 (England) there has been a 50% reduction in the number of bags found on UK beaches; this could be replicated on other items.
Locally we removed over TWO & A HALF TONNES of Marine Debris (the majority of which was plastic) from Scilly’s coastline during the 2018 Great Scilly Spring Clean in just TWO DAYS!
https://www.ios-wildlifetrust.org.uk/appeal/keeping-scilly-special
Need More Reasons...?
We have an issue disposing of our waste locally without the added
pressure of single use plastics; it’s often the elephant in the room which
people avoid talking about or don’t know how to respond when asked;
- It’s unsightly;
- Base ingredients (i.e. oil, natural gases, coal) will eventually “run out”
- It’s damaging the environment;
- It’s harmful to our wildlife;
- It’s harmful to us.
Know Your Enemy...
Recycling, especially plastics, is confusing. There are 7 different types of plastic and the symbol found on plastic objects is misleading. It does not mean a product can be recycled,
it just tells you the type of plastic it is.
Biodegradable vs Compostable...
Broadly speaking there are three types of “environmentally friendly” plastics and the terms often confuse
and mislead people; it is really important to fully understand what the manufacturers mean when they
talk of compostable and biodegradable plastic. It’s not a one size fits all and varies from manufacturer
to manufacturer, making it even more complicated and confusing.
Bioplastics:
Bioplastics are plastics derived from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable fats and oils, corn
starch, or microbiota; items such as utensils and packaging are common. The term in itself is confusing
as it does not mean biodegradable, industry use the term bioplastic to mean a plastic produced from
a biological source.
Non-biodegradable bioplastics are referred to as durable. The biodegradability of bioplastics depends
on temperature, polymer stability, and available oxygen content; requiring industrial or commercial
composting conditions to break down. They do not biodegrade in ordinary composting facilities quickly
or in soil/water.
Research is currently being carried out into how Bioplastics break down and how their components
effect the environments & habitats they end up in.
Plastic Free Scilly is an Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust Project (Charity No. 1097807)
supported by Isles of Scilly Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Funding