• Stop plastic-based Chewing Gum.
    Chewing gum is made from plastic. Think how much chewing gum you've put in your mouth believing it was a natural substance. Think of how much you've thrown away thinking it will compost naturally over time. Originally, chewing gum was made from natural "chicle" gum, which biodegrades in under a month. However, modern chewing gum uses a gum base made from polymers which are synthetic plastics. This is not organic waste that composts, it is a hidden plastic in our food, it will not break down naturally, and adds to all the other plastic humanity continues to produce, purchase and discarded. I am calling on the manufacturers of all chewing gum to revert back to a natural gum base and ensure the product is 100% free from plastic. Sign the petition if you want to reduce plastic usage and agree with this proposal.
    75 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Michael Cox
  • Old brick heaters
    it is important to reduce energy consumption to save the environment as well as reducing costs of overall electric use so the poorest people can survive and live happy lives
    64 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Andrew oconnor
  • End of "FILM - PLASTIC Not currently recycled" labels
    For many years now local councils have actively promoted households to recycle as much packaging as possible but the amount of plastic packaging that is not currently recycled is unacceptable. How many times have you gone to recycle plastic packaging? only to find that it is not currently recycled. As consumers, we should be able to purchase goods knowing that the packaging they come supplied with can be recycled at a later date. For one week I collected all the plastic packaging that had 'currently not recycled' written on it and was shocked at how much plastic packaging this amounted to. The alternative would be to avoid purchasing the plastic packaging but realistically this is not always an option as the product may only be supplied in that packaging. In the Netherlands, Ekoplaza supermarkets have introduced Europe’s first plastic-free supermarket aisle. "For decades shoppers have been sold the lie that we can’t live without plastic in food and drink... Finally we can see a future where the public have a choice about whether to buy plastic or plastic-free. Right now we have no choice.” (The Guardian - https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/28/worlds-first-plastic-free-aisle-opens-in-netherlands-supermarket). The Guardian’s investigation into supermarkets’ plastic footprint found that leading UK stores create more than 800,000 tonnes of plastic packaging waste every year. However Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Waitrose, Asda and Lidl all refused to divulge their plastic output, with most saying the information was “commercially sensitive”. (The Guardian - https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/28/worlds-first-plastic-free-aisle-opens-in-netherlands-supermarket). Call on supermarkets across the UK to follow Ekoplaza’s example without delay.
    25 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Diane Abela
  • Save Pontypool library from close down
    People need library go to get books and cds DVDs go on computers
    6 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Samuel Cooke
  • Call for clear legislation and Standards to cover composting
    Currently there are no national or international standards to cover home composting. At present Packaging manufacturers can claim their products are "compostable" leading to consumer confusion and misinformation. Products that are listed as compostable are often only suitable for industrial composting or hot composting and will not biodegrade in your home composter or even in an anaerobic digester. {This has been the case with several so-called biodegradable plastics: they are proven to break down faster under specific environmental conditions (which may not actually reflect the normal environment), but may not be effectively degradable under natural conditions. The labels of 'biodegradable', 'bio-based', 'compostable', are therefore often claimed and used in marketing contexts, with little understanding for consumers on what these definitions mean in practice. A key current challenge of biodegradable plastics is that they tend to need particular waste management methods which are not always widely available. They usually need to be separated from the traditional recycling stream (which can be difficult and expensive), and have to go to specific compostable facilities. This doesn’t mean such methods are unfeasible, but could be additional economic cost especially if they're in the waste stream at low concentrations, and would take significant work in terms of infrastructure redesign} Quoted from Our World in Data Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-12-truth-bioplastics.html#jCp
    80 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Cleaner Seas Project Picture
  • Recycling bins
    Plastic bottles, free newspapers and packaged food on-the-go are everywhere on our public transport and on our streets. The government should ensure that everyone has the opportunity to contribute to improving the UK's recycling rates but many of our public litter bins don't have a recycling option. It wouldn't be difficult to commit to ensuring local councils replaced these outdated bins with dual purpose options, as seen in some areas of London, within a reasonable time-frame.
    54 of 100 Signatures
    Created by James Fernley
  • Zebra Crossing
    So many cars, and while there are crossings, there are very far away and inconvenient to cross. This prioritising cars in the city and displacing the right of people. Critical to allow pedestrians to have right on the road and hopefully reduce car use.
    2 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Iain Duke
  • Nationally Recognise Pubs/Clubs & Venues as Community Assets
    Please consider any local café, restaurant, pub, clubs/sports associations and village hall a community asset, i.e. somewhere people can gather and socialise and ensure that these establishments are protected under Planning Law. Under current planning law a change of use is permitted through the planning application process, which in turn initiates a "consultation" process i.e. the community has the opportunity to object to an application. However Planning Officers have a tendency to ignore objections and rubber stamp development, a recent example local to me had 700 petitioned objections 13 written and the support of a Local Councillor, planning was still granted. The Government must support the community and prevent Council's and developers ignoring the wish of the local populous. Media reports that society is changing, and that the mental health of the nation is suffering, could this be because people have become insular by not going out. Pub’s, as an example, used to be a place where the local community met, socialised and resolved local issues between themselves, everybody knew their neighbour, their neighbour’s kids, etc. This sense of community is rapidly being lost. People are sitting at home becoming keyboard warriors and panicking over fake-news, they do not have an outlet to talk to others, attributing to the overall mental health of a Nation. Community assets should be protected by Law and encouraged with lesser rents, exemption from business rates, they after all are providing a service to the public, the local community and at times law enforcement. If a building cannot be maintained in it's current use, an alternative use that benefits the community would be preferable, i.e. conversion to a youth club rather that developed for profit.
    136 of 200 Signatures
    Created by Jon Buller
  • Fisheries Post Brexit
    British territorial waters are some of the most productive in Europe. I started fishing full time 42 years ago. Most of that time under the EU's Common Fisheries Policy. When we joined what was then the EEC we had to sign away equal access to other European countries. Some, like Spain, had no history of fishing in British waters. Others had so little territorial waters of thier own that they must have been rubbing thier hands together with glee at gaining access to our rich and abundant waters. Over the years I have seen the Common Fisheries Policy depress the industry, with once household named fishing ports such as Fleetwood, Milford haven, Lowestoft, Hull and Grimsby all declining. Thousands of people, not only fishermen but those industries supporting them, had to face finding other work or the dole. Whole communities were destroyed. The policy led to overfishing and the consequent decimation of prime fisheries, such as Liverpool bay and the Southern North Sea. The most recent threat has come from Dutch electro pulse fishing. Wiping out whole eco systems on the north Sea in the name of efficiency. I have seen once thriving fisheries that I used to work every year, nearly destroyed. Limiting us to smaller areas and concentrating effort there, instead of the diversity of grounds and fishing opportunities we used to enjoy. We now have the golden opportunity to take back control of what is a national resource potentially worth billions. By putting our own measures in place managing our fisheries effectively and sustainably we could ensure that not only are there fish in the seas but an industry for our children and grandchildren. Those Europeans that have an historic right of access and have fished or waters for hundreds of years, must be allowed to continue within limits but only if they comply with our rules of enforcement.
    27 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Gerald Podschies
  • Older People’s Campaign To Get Our Centre Back!
    We have been members of and attending functions including our own coffee mornings at what was known formally as Hibbert Community Centre/Chalfont Centre for many years now. All the voluntary groups that used the centre raised their own funds for all their various community activities. In January 2018, Bolton Council decided to close the centre for whatever political reasons. We, the elderly, do not care about their politics. Hibbert Community Regeneration Agency has moved to other premises in 3 other wards and have stated they have no intention of coming back to that particular centre which is a pity as they were the only agency we know who were providing this service for the elders of the area. We want the council to hand over the building to the local elders or run it themselves as a full time older people’s centre. This was until recently, a thriving community centre based in one of the most deprived areas in Britain! (Top 5% most deprived - Government Index of Multiple Deprivation.) Bolton Council can give rich businesses £300,000 grants but does not wish to pay bills to keep a community centre alive that has huge demand from the older people of the community.
    30 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Ibrahim Patel
  • Make job application forms available in braille
    There are approximately 360,000 people registered blind or partially sighted in the UK. In the workplace, braille can be a productive way for people to make notes and can also be useful for reviewing printed material. Braille can reduce paper volumes as it is made up of shortcuts (short form words) which means reading material can be much faster. However, there are thousands of people who do not reach the job application stage as the job application is in an inaccessible format for them. It is vitally important to the lives of partially sighted and blind people as the ability to read and write in braille allows individuals to be literate and gives them an equal opportunity.
    2 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Sarah Walters
  • Save Littlegreen School
    In November 2017 Ofsted graded Littlegreen School as inadequate. New legislation requires that inadequate schools become subject of an academy order. However, if the school is inspected again and has improved meaning the inadequate grade removed before a sponsor is found the order will be lifted. Littlegreen School is a special school for boys. It was rated Good by ofsted in 2012 but recieved no interim short inspection prior to the inspection in 2017. During those 5 years there were numerous changes in leadership and the schools performance started slipping unbeknown to ofsted as they hadn't checked the school. The current headteacher took her post in September 2017 just prior to the Ofsted inspection. She had to immediately make numerous changes after discovering serious concerns with safeguarding and the running of the school. These changes caused a lot of upset amongst the boys who struggle with change but they were necessary changes. So here we are now, the boys are settling down and understanding the new rules. The school improvement plan data shows marked improvements in school. An academy trust is showing an interest in taking the school over. We do not feel this is in the best interests of our boys. They will have to cope with more changes just as they are settling down, this is not good for children with SEN. We do not want our small unique school to become part of a business. The academy will make changes to staff which will affect the boys massively. The headteacher will no longer be required as the trust has one Executive Headteacher covering all the schools within the trust. This is not fair on the boys to lose a leader they are starting to bond with and not fair on a head who hasn't been given chance to bring the school back to a good rating. We want Ofsted to come back and inspect our school and see the improvements so the academy order can be lifted. Schools should not be forced to academise!
    1,517 of 2,000 Signatures
    Created by Hayley Rose