As a community, we are bringing people together on a journey to tackle throwaway plastic, from the countryside all the way back to the businesses and brands who create it. It’s not about removing all plastic from our lives. It’s about kicking our addiction to throwaway single-use plastic and changing the system that produces it.

This means we ask everyone who lives in and visits Sheffield to do their bit to help reduce disposable plastics. Events have a huge role to play in that, and this charter sets out our expectations.

Our Focus: We are focusing on ten main ‘offenders.’ These are:

• Plastic drinks bottles
• Plastic carrier bags
• Disposable coffee cups and lids
• Single-use plastic cups
• Plastic food or product packaging
• Balloons
• Plastic straws
• Plastic cutlery
• Sachets
• Bathroom plastics

Find out why here: https://www.sas.org.uk/get-involved/

Things You Can Do to Help

There are three things we ask you not to supply at all at your event. These are:

• Plastic carrier bags
• Balloons
• Plastic cutlery

Please would you also encourage and work towards the following additional three things at your event:

• Re-usable cups for hot and cold drinks
• A reduction in the number of plastic bottles of drink on offer
• A reduction in unnecessary plastic packaging

Where to Get Help

You can get tips and advice on how to reduce plastic at your event, including a copy of the Plastic Free Communities Business Toolkit from Plastic Free Sheffield Central.

Plastic Free Sheffield Central is currently working hard to persuade local businesses to ditch at least three single-use plastics and replace with sustainable alternatives. Removing the option to purchase and/or use single-use plastics is the easiest way to avoid them.

Making suitable, sustainable alternatives readily available to customers will bring about a change in behaviour and reduce the amount of throwaway plastic in our society. We want to congratulate the businesses, including events organisers, who are making these changes and offer them our full support.

By signing up and taking at least three steps to reduce plastic you can be awarded the Surfers Against Sewage ‘Plastic Free Champion’ plaque and certificate to display, joining a nationally recognised network of organisations and businesses taking the lead on this increasingly pertinent issue.

Taking Things a Step Further

In future your event may be asked to take further action on throwaway plastic in line with the aims of Plastic Free Sheffield Central and our city. We do not expect anyone to get rid of unnecessary plastics overnight, but we do want to see progress, sending a strong message about the kind of city we are and the kind of environment we want to live in.

Join us to free where we live from single-use…one plastic bottle at a time!