Formby MP backs school’s bid to go plastic free

21st June 2019
Formby MP backs school's bid to go plastic free
Bill Esterson MP with Y2 pupils at Trinity St Peter's school (consent has been received from every parent to use the pic)

MP Bill Esterson has applauded a Formby school as they bid to become the first in Sefton to achieve the Plastic Free School award.

The MP visited Trinity St Peter’s on Paradise Lane and received handwritten notes from each of the children in Year 2, who are aged just six and seven.

The MP wrote back to each child to say how impressed he was that they were working hard to become a plastic free school.

In their letters to the MP, the children wrote: “Did you know that plastic takes 1,000 years to break down. We all should reduce the amount of plastic we use. We want to become the first school in Sefton to be plastic free. Please help us!”

In response the MP wrote: “I was so pleased to hear that this is something that you are passionate about – it is something I am passionate about too. I fully support your efforts to make Trinity St Peter’s a plastic free school. With such enthusiasm from you and your classmates I have no doubt that you will achieve this aim.

“What an accomplishment it would be for your school to become the first in Sefton to achieve the award.

“Reducing the use of plastic is important to me too. I have switched from using milk that comes in plastic cartons to milk that is delivered in glass bottles. I also supported a Bill in Parliament that called for a total ban on non-recyclable plastic by 2025. I would be happy to support any measures that encourage the use of refillable water bottles and I hope all the shops in Formby will get on board.

“I want to see the strongest regulations possible in the Environment Bill and promise to work hard in Parliament to achieve a reduction in plastic use.”

The plastic free schools campaign encourages schools to cut their use of single-use plastic, such as drinks bottles, disposable coffee cups, sachets and food packaging.

According to the Plastic Free Schools website, eight million items of plastic enter the world’s oceans each day; 320 million tonnes of plastic was manufactured in 2016 and this is set to double by 2034; and there are 5,000 pieces of plastic per mile of beach in the UK.