SEA - Turning back the tide of waste
21st June, 2007
An environmental group formed by local people in Saltash concerned about increasing levels of waste and the impact on the environment is celebrating its second year!
Saltash Environmental Action (SEA) wants to focus public attention on the issue of waste, its role in environmental damage, and to promote ideas for sustainable living. The first aim for the group was to cut the use of plastic bags in Saltash, in an effort to follow the Modbury campaign, where every shop has pledged not to provide plastic bags. Instead, shops offer carriers made from biodegradable cornstarch, and a range of cotton bags are also on sale.
Chair of SEA and founding member Marianne Beale said: "I was horrified when I discovered that on average, a carrier bag is only used for about 18 minutes to carry shopping to the car and then home again, but can take up to 1000 years to degrade. Plastic is so cheap and freely available, we have become reliant on it, but there is a big cost to the environment in terms of disposal, and its carbon footprint.
"The success of Modbury was striking and it has been achieved by the town's traders and residents banding together to outlaw plastic bags for the sake of the environment and future generations. As a small town like Saltash, it just goes to show what can be achieved if everyone pulls together. I would really like to see Saltash leading the way for Cornwall."
Ex- Mayor of Saltash, Bob Austin, is also a founder member of SEA. "We live in a fantastic part of the world, with magnificent scenery, spectacular coastlines with a vast range of wildlife. It is saddening when you take a walk down one of our lanes and see plastic bags trapped in the hedgerows, or see them washed up on the foreshore. They are very dangerous to marine and land based wildlife alike, as birds and mammals can mistake bags for food and choke on them. And of course, litter is not attractive either, so we want to persuade people to think about an alternative.
"Bags for Life, jute or cotton bags are all suitable options for people to use. We are researching the possibility of how we could produce a range of bags especially for Saltash, which we think might be popular. If people could just think before they accept a plastic bag, "Do I really need this ?" we could have a dramatic impact on the amount of bags we use in our town, which would be good for all concerned."
For more information about SEA and the group's activities, please visit the website www.sea.pl12.org
