"Straws suck!" says local eco-warrior

Monday 10 July 2017

One Jersey woman has launched a campaign against single-use plastic in Jersey, with straws top of her hit list.

As part of 'Plastic Free July', Sheena Brockie has been contacting businesses around the Island to ask them to drop the straw, or to find plastic-free alternatives.

She challenged herself to live a year without waste, including 'Plastic Free July:'

"All you have to do is choose to refuse single-use plastic during July. It’s about becoming more conscious of the amount of single use plastics that there are in use in your every-day life, and taking an active stance against using them. Spread the word – you can make a small change – in your home, workplace, school – lets get people talking!  We are an island of over 100,000 souls – if each us of made just one small change the impact would be massive!"

She's launched a 'Straws Suck!' campaign in Jersey. According to Greenpeace, straws are among the top 10 items found in beach clean-ups and millions of them are discarded every day in the UK. Sheena herself says she has seen dozens of straws washed up on Jersey beaches during her walks.

Pictured: Sheena Brockie regularly finds plastic straws washed up on Jersey beaches, here in Gorey.

She has been contacting pubs, restaurants, hotels and cafés to get them to drop the straws, or find alternatives to the pesky plastic ones. She has already sent dozens of emails asking establishments "... to consider the environmental impact of the straws you offer." In her messages, she suggests that straws should be put out of sight and only issued when customers ask for one and that paper alternatives should be purchased next time around. Sheena also asks managers to display a 'Last Straw' poster in their establishment and to explain to customers why straws are no longer on open offer.

She told Express: "A lot of people tell me it is only a small thing. But I believe it's the little things that eveyrone can do that make a difference. It's such a simple thing to do and I think that if people start with the little thing, it is then easier to do the big things."

So far, the eco-warrior says she has had a really positive response to the campaign. Mark Cillers, owner of Big J and Loaf, was the first one to jump onboard by promising to find non-plastic alternatives. He quickly stocked up on biodegradable straws and decided to go all the way by buying biodegradable cutlery as well. He is not the only one though, the Boat House Group and Rhona's in Gorey are among those who have also promised to wave goodbye to the plastic straw.

Some businesses were also 'ahead of the game' and are already offering paper straws like the Liberation Group or sourcing biodegradable straws. The newly opened Cheffins Beaumont, was one of those. Simon Soar, the manager, told Express: "We were already following the campaign around the world as it is something we believe in. We have built Cheffins in an environment-friendly way to minimise its impact. A straw takes hundreds of years to degrade, it is a huge amount of time. We tried to source alternatives, such as metal or glass ones, but we thought that there was a high risk of those being taken away. As we couldn't afford the cost, we opted for bio-degradable ones that will only need months to degrade. They are of course a little bit more expensive but when you compare the cost to the environment, it's a couple of pounds well spent!"

Pictured: Sheena Brockie has been contacting businesses to ask them to display posters against plastic straws.

Sheena is now preparing a series of other actions that will be introduced throughout the month. Among those, she is trying to organise a 'zero waste' week with a local supermarket chain.

She explains: "The 'Straw Suck!' campaign is just one aspect of Plastic Free July. I want to challenge businesses who don't take responsibility for their products after they sell them, those who do not offer refilling opportunity. I want to speak to them and get them to change their ways. I also want to encourage people to look out for ways to 'recycle the un-recyclable.'"