PLastic Free Truro

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Getting Drastic with Plastic

In Truro the big clean up is on with a range of initiatives and organisations springing up to make our great little city a less wasteful one.

In June 2018, Truro became the UK’s first city to gain Plastic Free Communities Approved Status! 

In April 2018 Truro BID and other community leaders organised the first ever City clean up week. Volunteers from over 200 community groups and businesses collected more than 250 bags of litter in and around the city centre, The clean up weeks continue in 2019 . 

The Final Straw Cornwall – is a campaign to rid the county of single use plastic straws and raise awareness of the damage single use plastics are causing to our environment. In Truro it is being spearheaded by the Cornish Food Box company & Sam’s in the City, supported by Truro Chamber of Commerce, Truro BID and Plastic Free Truro, a volunteer group working with Surfers Against Sewage to help Truro gain Plastic Free Coastline status.

The Campaign is urging pubs, restaurants, hotels and cafes across the county to adopt sustainable, reusable alternatives such as straws, stainless steel or glass. Look out for Plastic Straw Free posters around the city at participating businesses.

The Refill Campaign is encouraging Cafes and Restaurants to offer free tap water refills to cut down on plastic bottles, below are a few places already signed up with it increasingly growing.  Just pop in and fill up, wherever you see the refill logo or download the free refill app to find the nearest station

So far the REfill Stations are:

  • 108 Coffee House
  • Archie Browns – Kenwyn Street
  • Clive Mitchell Cycles
  • Hubbox – Kenwyn Street
  • Lilys – Pydar Street
  • Uneeka Cafe – Boscawen Street
  • Costa Coffee – Victoria Square
  • Costa Coffee – Tesco
  • The Cornish Vegan – Kenwyn Street
  • The Old Ale House – Quay Street
  • The Refil Store, Lemon Street Market
  • Truro Methodist Church – Union Place
  • Try Dowr – Lemon Quay
  • Seasalt, Duke Street
  • Sams in the City – New Bridge Street
  • Truro Lounge, Princes Street
  • Old Bakery Cafe, Blewetts Wharf, Malpas Road 
  • Cafe in the Park – Boscawen Park 

We also have The Refill store in Lemon Street Market in Truro – a waste and plastic free convenience store. Bring your own reusable containers to fill up on food and other products and do your bit for Plastic Free Truro. 

Did you know that we are also home to the first stand-alone, zero waste Barbershop in the UK – 1981 – With a strong belief in sustainability and the environment – and a commitment to get as close to Zero waste as possible.  This means not only are you getting a great trim, but you’re also helping save the planet (one haircut at a time!), go and visit them in St. Mary’s Mews

Plastic in Numbers 

  • Used for just 20 minutes, once discarded a straw can last in the environment for 100s of years. 
  • Over 150 plastic bottles litter each mile of UK beaches. 
  • Each person in the UK generates around 175kg of packaging waste every year.
  • Plastic take 100 – 300 years to fragment depending on thickness and size
  • Everyday approximately 8 million pieces of plastic pollution find their way into our oceans.