City to Sea

New Campaign Campaigns

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  Switch to paper cotton buds

  Plastic cotton bud stems are the number one item of plastic, sewage-related debris on our beaches and rivers [1] - yet retailers could help prevent this by switching the stick from plastic to paper. In the marine environment, plastics can be eaten by marine life, often with fatal consequences. Plastic is found in the stomachs of Loggerhead Turtles, Seabirds and many species of UK-caught fish. And pieces that don't get eaten break down into microplastics, forming part of a dangerous plastic smog in our seas. Retailers are listening - earlier this year, Waitrose and Johnson & Johnson announced they'd make the change to paper, and the Coop and Marks and Spencers sell paper-stem buds. Now we need to make sure the others do the same. Tesco, Sainsburys, Boots, ASDA, Morrisons, Lidl, Aldi, Superdrug and Wilko are currently reviewing their policies on cotton buds ... which is why we need to show them how many of us support the switch to paper! Even paper stem cotton buds shouldn’t be flushed down the loo. But if they are, they're less likely to pass through sewage filters and will quickly biodegrade if they escape. So please sign and share our petition to ask the remaining retailers to Switch the Stick from plastic to paper. Your voice will be heard! Thanks, Natalie and the City to Sea Team [1] Beachwatch Report 2015, Marine Conservation Society

  157,495 of 200,000 Signatures

  Created by Natalie Fee
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  Introduce a tax (levy) on throwaway plastic

  The UK produces billions of pieces of throwaway plastics such as plastic straws, plastic cutlery, plastic cups and coffee cups every year. Yet a huge percentage of these are not recycled - instead they end up littering our streets, our beaches and washing out to sea where they pollute our oceans and harm marine wildlife, which we then end up consuming! One of the most effective solutions is to introduce a small tax on throwaway items (straws, cups, cutlery, takeaway boxes, coffee cups, beer cups) at the point of sale. This has been incredibly successful with plastic carrier bags, where a small 5p charge has resulted in a reduction of over 80% in use in supermarkets. The tax collected should be ring-fenced for investment in anti-pollution strategies and solutions that work towards a circular economy where ‘waste’ is designed out of our system. In the recent budget, the government announced that they would investigate the possibility of bringing in a plastic tax to the UK, but nothing's confirmed yet. Please sign the petition to show your support for the idea, and help stop plastic pollution at source.

  243,693 of 300,000 Signatures

  Created by Natalie Fee
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  The UK must match the rest of Europe and ban single-use plastic

  The government has yet to open a consultation on the issue which means a decision, or a ban could be months, or even years away. We are now in danger of falling behind the rest of Europe in implementing these very minimum of steps. Despite the welcome banning of straws, stirrers and cotton buds, in October 2020, the UK has yet to legislate for the banning of the rest of the items included under the Directive, which we know to be among the most polluting. Packaging from take-away food and drinks is a huge cause of plastic pollution and items like plastic cutlery and take-away containers are consistently in the top ten most polluting items found on beaches around the world. New research has revealed that food containers and food wrappers are amongst the four most widespread items polluting our oceans, rivers and beaches.

  118,422 of 200,000 Signatures

  Created by Jo Morley
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  Plastic-free Schools need Plastic-free Periods

  The government has made three promising commitments recently: - To tackle period poverty by providing free period products to primary and secondary schools - A challenge to schools to go single-use plastic free by 2022 - To eliminate unavoidable plastic waste in the UK by 2042 With all three commitments in mind we want this government to commit to only purchasing period products for schools that are plastic-free or reusable. This would mean schools can offer students a range of plastic-free disposable products (tampons, pads and liners) and reusable products (menstrual cups and washable pads). Here in the UK a staggering 4.3 billion disposable menstrual products are used every year! Many people don’t realise that most period pads (including Always, Bodyform and most supermarket own-brands) can contain up to 90% plastic – the equivalent of five plastic bags per pack of pads [1]. Most tampons also contain a thin layer of plastic. What’s more, although no period products should go down the loo, it’s estimated around 700,000 panty liners, 2.5 million tampons and 1.4 million pads are flushed down the toilet every day in the UK – many of which block our sewer systems and escape into our rivers and seas. In addition to the environmental benefits of providing plastic-free period products, a reusable product option provides immense cost savings over time and reduces ‘period poverty shame’ – those who require free products find it more dignified to do so every 2-10 years, as opposed to every month. Research shows that over a lifetime an individual can save up to 94% of what would have been spent on disposable products, by switching to reusable ones. We call on the government to use joined-up thinking in tackling these issues and commit to supplying plastic-free and reusable period products for schools. [1] https://natracare.com/blog/how-much-plastic-in-sanitary-pads/

  37,366 of 40,000 Signatures

  Created by Jasmine Tribe
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  Get reusables back on the menu

  We’ve seen a massive increase in plastic pollution since lockdown lifted and take-away packaging is a big part of the problem. Now is not the time to backtrack on single-use plastic. We need to build back better and create a new normal – one that values our resources and champions reuse over single-use. Whilst we completely understand that this is a challenging time for many foodservice businesses, reusables CAN be used safely and accepting them doesn’t have to be complicated – in fact, it can be super simple. Over 100 scientists have confirmed that reusables are safe to use, and at City to Sea, we’ve shared practical guidance for businesses to support them in accepting reusable cups and bottles. We can stay safe and look after the planet. Pret, Starbucks and Costa Coffee, the UK’s largest coffee chains, and a number of forward-thinking independent businesses have now started accepting reusables again and now Starbucks has followed their lead. We believe if Costa Coffee, Starbucks, and hundreds of planet-protecting independent businesses can do it, so can they! These businesses make up a HUGE share of takeaway sales within the UK. By refusing to let their customers choose to reuse, they are contributing to a mountain of completely avoidable waste. • In the UK, we make our way through an estimated 2.5 BILLION disposable coffee cups a year • And over 7.7 BILLION plastic water bottles . • The production of disposable coffee cups is responsible for the felling of a million trees a year, • And uses around 1.5 BILLION litres of water, stripping our planet of precious natural resources at a time when we should be protecting it. Want to do more? 1. Share this petition with your friends, family and everyone you know! 2. #ChoosetoReuse – carry your reusable bottle, cup and containers and tell the world that reusables are BACK and they are here to stay. 3. Download the free Refill app to find Refill Stations near you. 4. Celebrate the amazing, planet protecting businesses that ARE accepting reusables by showing them some love on social media and with your wallets. 😊 5. If you find a business that’s NOT accepting refills, share @CitytoSea’s #ContactlessCoffee campaign & @Refill water guidance to help them get on board. Tag them on social media & ask them to join the #RefillRevolution This campaign is supported by : - Break Free From Plastic - Greenpeace UK - Friends of the Earth - Marine Conservation Society - Surfers Against Sewage - We Have The Power - Everyday Plastic - Green Goblet - Muuse - Unpackaged - Conscious Cup - Chilly's Bottles - KeepCup - Sustain - Less Plastic - Green Alliance - Beach Guardian

  18,806 of 20,000 Signatures

  Created by Natalie Fee
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  Tell retailers to stock plastic free toiletries

  We know 80% of people are concerned about plastic pollution [1] and want to do more to reduce the amount of single-use plastic they use. But retailers don’t always make it easy to find plastic-free products. We know that many retailers are starting to take action to prevent plastic pollution in certain areas of their business. But they need to know that promoting plastic travel minis without offering plastic-free alternatives is no longer acceptable. By acting on your feedback they can inspire the market & help us all escape from plastic pollution. Why is this important: Holidaymakers cause a 40% surge in marine litter entering the Mediterranean [2]. Research [3] estimates that 980 tonnes of mini-plastic shampoo bottles are being dumped by British holidaymakers abroad each year - that’s equivalent to two-and-a-half Boeing 747s. In one year alone 15.5 million people bought travel miniatures (amounting to a whopping 103 million products) but just under half of them dumped the packaging afterwards! A spokesperson for Thomas Cook said [4] the issue of single-use plastic matters to 90% of its customers, according to a survey of more than 3,000 people. “Significantly for the travel industry, the amount of plastic litter going into the Mediterranean increases by 40% during the summer months, demonstrating a direct link between our industry and plastic pollution.” On the back of its research, Thomas Cook has said it could save 70 million pieces of single-use plastic in the next year alone. Together we can make a difference Retailers listen to what their customers say and by signing our petition you’ll be making your voice heard and telling them we want a choice and plastic-free alternatives can and should be available. Find out what else you can do by getting involved with our Plastic Free Travel campaign. [1] https://pebblemag.com/news/zero-waste-week-single-use-plastic [2] https://www.wwf.org.uk/updates/tourists-cause-almost-40-spike-plastic-entering-mediterranean-sea-each-summer [3] https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6887323/holidaymakers-travel-size-toiletries-plastic-waste/ [4] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/beach-holidays/thomas-cook-pledge-to-remove-single-use-plastics-from-resorts/ [5] https://www.citytosea.org.uk/campaigns/

  6,376 of 7,000 Signatures

  Created by Steve Hynd