Viva Lewes Issue #152 May 2019

ON THIS MONTH: ENVIRONMENT
Plastic Free Lewes Pledge
Reasons to sign up
DID YOU KNOW?
An estimated 8.3 billion metric
tons of plastic have been
produced since the 1950s – that’s
equivalent to the weight of more
than 800,000 Eiffel Towers. And
only 9% of it has been recycled.
Over the last decade we’ve
produced more plastic than
during the whole of the last
century.
Between us, across the world, we
produce more than 400 million
tons of plastic every year – of
which half is made for single use.
One million plastic bottles are
bought every minute, and this
number is set to increase by 20%
by 2021 if we don’t act.
Between 500 billion and 1 trillion
plastic bags are used across the
world each year. That’s 2 million
every minute. The introduction in
the UK of a 5p plastic bag charge
in 2015 has brought usage down
by about 83%.
Plastic bags are used for an
average of 12 minutes, and then
can take hundreds of years to
decompose.
73% of all beach litter is plastic.
It takes 450 years for a nappy – or
a plastic bottle – to biodegrade.
Photo by Chris Smedley
These are just some of the facts, from various sources,
Juliet Oxborrow (left) and Sue Fleming of Plastic Free
Lewes shared with me, when explaining the reasons for
the open invitation – to businesses, schools, retailers and
individuals – to sign the Plastic Free Lewes Pledge.
“Gradually things are changing”, Juliet says. “Globally,
today, plastic production is soaring. But people are
beginning to take a stand, and along the south coast
here, we have a ‘corridor’ of plastic-free groups.”
The Plastic Free Lewes Pledge, launching this month,
is something any of us can sign up to – and it’s not too
onerous. It means cutting down, wherever possible, on
single-use plastic. The pledge launches at the Depot on
20th May – when there’ll be a screening of the powerful
documentary Trashed featuring Jeremy Irons, plus a Q&A
with the film’s maker, Candida Brady; and the debut
screening of “the Pledge film – featuring loads of local
businesses and people who’ve already signed up”.
“The online pledge includes suggested actions anyone
can take to cut down on single-use plastic”, says Sue.
“And we’re inviting pledgees to share their own ideas
online to inspire others.”
There’ll also be a day in the Town Hall on 1st June
featuring stalls, speakers, plastic-free artists, and
more. “We want to get to the point where buying a
plastic bottle of water seems as odd as smoking on the
underground does today.” Charlotte Gann
20th, Depot, 8pm. Sign the pledge at plasticfreelewes.org
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