Wales to Ban Single-Use Plastic!
The Welsh Government recently announced that by Autumn 2023, Wales will introduce a new law that will allow the banning single-use plastic.
Wales will become the first part of the UK to legislate this new law and it will be an important and ambitious effort to tackle the growing concern about climate change and the detrimental effects that plastic can cause on the environment and its inhabitants.
The single-use plastics that are said to be banned or restricted in Wales include plastic cutlery, drinking straws, expanded and foamed extruded polystyrene takeaway containers/cups, and polystyrene lids.
At the start of the 2022 season, here at Tyddyn Isaf Camping and Caravan Park, we replaced all of our plastic cutlery with compostable wooden cutlery sets, along with ensuring that our takeaway food boxes and coffee cups were all made from biodegradable and recyclable materials. In addition, we substituted all plastic straws for paper alternatives.
It is estimated that around 5 million tonnes of plastic is used annually in the UK with only around 12% of single-use plastic being recycled by households. Unfortunately, this means that some plastics will find their way to landfill and the environment.
Every single piece of plastic that has ever been made still exists.
When plastic is littered upon the environment it will not decompose, however, the weather can cause the plastic to break down making toxic microparticles. These toxins can then pollute the soil, and leach into rivers and oceans resulting in harm to land and marine animals, the landscape and even our health.
Since the 5-10p charge on carrier bag was introduced in the UK, there has been a significant reduction in the amount of single-use plastic bags that have been purchased.
In England alone, it was reported that 496 million single-use plastic bags were purchased in 2021-22, down from an astounding 2.21 billion in 2016-17.
Replacing a single-use bag with a reusable shopping bag meant that a staggering 1.24 billion plastic bags never found their way to landfill or the environment.
Tyddyn Isaf has made some small changes throughout the years which have made an even bigger difference. Some of our small changes include our new ‘bread to order’ system, the use of paper bags only, dark-sky friendly lights, conversion to canned drinks wherever possible, and the provision of a large recycling facility for all materials.
As we are a caravan park by the beach on Anglesey that is located in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, it is our responsibility, and part of our ethos to reduce our carbon footprint wherever possible. We strive to ensure that the natural environment surrounding the park is neither disturbed nor destroyed.
We are on a journey to becoming a carbon-zero campsite and our visitors have significantly helped us on our mission by redirecting over 37,000kg of waste from landfill during 2022. Thank you!
As we work towards our goal of achieving carbon neutrality, we aim to inspire others to contribute to a greener future by encouraging our guests to appropriately recycle their waste. By doing so, not only can you assist us in our efforts, but you can also make a positive impact on the environment.