Hoole residents give single-use plastic the push
Hoole has come a long way since it became a civil parish in 1666 with 177 residents. ‘Notting Hoole’ has a fantastic range of independent businesses and eateries, and it hosts events well, including its annual Christmas Lights switch-on.
As some of the Eco Communities team, the people behind Plastic Free Chester in 2018, live in the region is decided the annual lights event was a great time to introduce Hoole to its Plastic Free Campaign. The team who are aiming to reduce single-use plastic around Cheshire is supporting Hoole as the next location to become a Plastic Free Community, having supported both Neston and Tattenhall earlier in the year to receive its Plastic Free Community status via national charity Surfers Against Sewage.
They kicked off the campaign by reducing the number of single-use hot and cold drink cups at the Christmas Lights switch-on, asking attendees to pay a deposit for its returnable hot and cold drink cups. Working closely with the Hoole Lights Committee and Home Brew Tap, most of the thousands of residents and attendees supported the idea at a very busy annual event.
Cllr Adam Langhan said, “As chair of the Hoole Light Committee, we are pleased to support Eco Communities in launching Plastic Free Hoole at this year’s Christmas lights switch on. It was great to see so many residents supporting the team by using its reusable cups.”
Helen Tandy, Founding Director of Eco Communities, who has been campaigning against single-use plastics for the last seven years, said, “Having moved to Hoole around 18 months ago and seeing how much single-use plastic was left on the streets after last year’s event, it seemed key to see how we could support the fantastic work the Hoole Lights Committee do each year by reducing the single-use plastic waste and littering from the event. Although what we achieved this year was a drop in the ocean based on the number of cups used for this mostly outdoor event, we hope we can show the committee that perhaps next year the whole event could be single-use plastic free”
Helen Chambers, Director of Eco Communities: “We are also excited to launch Plastic Free Hoole on Saturday, and this is a long-term project with the Hoole Community. We already have many businesses on board but have a way to go before Hoole achieves its Plastic Free Community status. You can keep updated on our progress via our newsletter and social media @Ecocommunities_.”
Eco Communities will also be at ‘Ho Ho Helsby’ on the 2nd of December https://hohohelsby.co.uk/
