People across Bath & North East Somerset are being urged to do their bit to help the district become plastic-free.

Bath & North East Somerset Council is asking businesses, organisations, schools, clubs and community groups to pledge to take action and ditch single-use plastics. The aim is to achieve Surfers Against Sewage Plastic Free Communities status by 2020.

The idea is that those who sign up to take part in Plastic Free B&NES share their experiences and knowledge to help each other in their effort to reduce their reliance on single-use, throwaway plastics.

Councillor Bob Goodman, Cabinet Member for Development and Neighbourhoods, said: “There is no quick fix to the problem of plastic pollution, but we can all take action to reduce our use of unnecessary single use plastics.

“We want local people and businesses within our community to make a commitment and join us in our challenge to increase the use of sustainable and reusable alternatives. The council has already signed up to the scheme, but it’s only by working together that we’ll be able to achieve Plastic Free Community status.”

Businesses who sign up to take part in Plastic Free B&NES are being asked to pledge to eliminate at least three single-use items over the next year.

Community groups, clubs, towns or parish councils can do their bit by encouraging others within their community to get involved by reducing unnecessary single-use plastic, recycling and by helping to remove harmful plastic and other litter from the environment through community litter picks.

How you can make a difference:

• Carry a refillable water bottle

• Carry a reusable coffee cup and refusing single-use takeaway cups

• Refuse straws

• Carry reusable shopping bags

• Recycling single-use plastic bottles and containers

It is through collective action that Bath & North East Somerset will achieve Plastic Free Community status.

Rachel Yates, Plastic Free Communities project officer at Surfers Against Sewage, said: “We’re creating the Plastic Free Community network to free where we live from single-use.

Together, we’re tackling avoidable, throwaway plastic, from our beaches, rivers and green spaces, all the way back to the brands and businesses who create it.

“It’s not about removing all plastic from our lives. It’s about kicking our addiction to avoidable single-use plastic, and changing the system that produces it.

“We live in a plastic world. It’s an extraordinarily useful, versatile, cheap material and it’s a growth industry, with one in every ten barrels of oil now used to create new plastic. But together, we can make sure we don’t choke our streets, parks and playgrounds with it.

“Because if it’s on our street today, then it’s in our rivers tomorrow, and our beaches and oceans forever. We can only do all of this together, and we’re pleased the community in Bath & North East Somerset is joining the journey”

For more information, and to sign the pledge, visit: www.bathnes.gov.uk/plasticfree