By Jessica Rose
It was July 2018, a year after my husband Dominic and I had moved to Margate, when he suggested we give Plastic Free July a try. The idea was simple. Stop buying things that would bring single-use plastic into our lives for one month.
We started with easy wins: no more plastic water bottles. Instead of buying reusables, at first we decided to keep and refill bottles we already had.
Take-away coffees were also out. We had some reusable camping cups so started carrying them around with us.
We refused plastic bags in shops, bringing our own cloth bags.
Crisp packets felt like a real sacrifice – we’d developed a serious crisp habit. We couldn’t find an alternative so decided we would just have to do without – it was only a month, after all.
Luckily, we live near Northdown Road in Cliftonville, so spent a lot more time at the Grain Grocer, the Polish shop and the International Food Centre – all within walking distance. Breakfast was muesli that we made ourselves. We started getting milk delivered in glass bottles and got a weekly veg bag from Windmill Community Garden.
Higher costs on some things were offset by lower costs on others, or simply not buying stuff it turned out that we didn’t actually need. Of course, there were some circumstances or items where we couldn’t avoid plastic but the amount we used was hugely reduced.
When the end of the month rolled around we decided to keep going. We realised we were eating more healthily, supporting local businesses instead of big chains and paying attention to where our food came from.
Four years on, as we approached Plastic Free July 2022, I had an idea. Could we start a plastic free campaign here in Thanet? Surfers Against Sewage had a model for signing up businesses as Plastic Free Champions so it made sense to adopt that. Broadstairs was already way ahead of Margate, with lots of businesses signed up. We approached Rise Up Clean Up to be partners.
We found representatives for Ramsgate and Minster and I started talking to councillors of every political persuasion. By December 2022, Thanet District Council officially and unanimously agreed to back the campaign.
We held the first of our business forums and the first Plastic Free Thanet steering group in 2023. Businesses told us they wanted to work together to reduce single-use plastics and find ethical suppliers. They were enthusiastic about local schemes for reusable coffee cups and festival drinks cups. Rather than simply signing up to a campaign, they wanted to see local action.
This became real when local bakery Oast got in touch. They wanted to reduce the amount of single-use cups they were getting through and to shift Margate’s coffee drinking culture towards reusables.
Together, we designed The Margate Cup – a reusable, recycled and recyclable plastic cup that could be sold at just £2.50, with profits going to Rise Up Clean Up. In the first month alone, Oast has seen 4.5 times more drinks purchased with reusable cups than in the months before the scheme.
We also started a discount scheme for coffee shops to offer customer discounts for any reusable cup. Eight Margate outlets have now joined the scheme and some are soon to start offering the cups as well.
We’ll be taking what we learn from this and expanding into Ramsgate and Broadstairs in the coming year. We’re also working with Margate Soul Festival to pilot a festival cup scheme in August, retaining the cups for use at other festivals around the district.
Whether you’re an individual or a business owner, I’d encourage you to use Plastic Free July to try ditching single-use plastic. For more details visit www.plasticfreethanet.co.uk
