A plastic-free market aimed to help reduce single-use plastics and promote sustainability within the community is launching.
Action Against Plastic is holding their next market on Sunday, November 3, between 10:30am and 4pm at The Steamworks.
Greg Hewiit, 36, and Founder of Sheffield Action on Plastic said: “When I moved to Sheffield I realised that there were a lot of markets and a lot of plastic being used. Whether it was plastic bags, packaging, or pint cups, the problem was massive. “
The plastic free markets are aimed at helping people find plastic free alternatives in all aspects of life, such as bathroom goods, food and drink, health and beauty products, stationary and much more, as well as showing that events can be held for sustainability.
Greg said he was inspired to combat plastic pollution after watching a film about The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
Greg said: “The more I started learning about what was going on the more I wanted to start doing something about it.”
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a vast collection of marine debris in the North Pacific, the largest plastic accumulation.
Greg said: “Since researching the issue, I have run a few events, like festivals and markets relating to reducing waste and plastic, over the last fourteen years.”
Wanting to tackle the issue further, Greg decided to host his own market that was entirely plastic free.
“So I thought right, let’s have a market where there is no single use plastic anywhere. We did that in April, and it was really great and successful.”
Entry to the plastic-free market is free, and attendees are welcome to make donations to support the community group.
As well as businesses selling their products, there is also food and drink on sale, along with live music.
Sheffield Action on Plastic runs a reusable hire cup scheme, allowing businesses to rent cups for use at events.
Greg said: “We hire out our reusable cups so it gets other people thinking about minimising single-use plastics.
“We have a meeting scheduled with the council to get them to think more about what they can do because they currently don’t have any policy around reducing single-use plastics.
“The ultimate aim would be for Sheffield City Council to put a ban on events providing disposable cups.”
Sheffield Christmas Markets alone see around 35,000–40,000 attendees every year, and with no rules on single-use plastics, it’s unmeasurable how much plastic ends up in landfill.
As well as Christmas, annually, Sheffield residents produce close to 200,000 tonnes of waste, enough to fill Ponds Forge swimming pool 161 times.
Greg said, “You can make one or two swaps, and you would still make a difference, it’s all possible.”
The group also has a website that offers alternatives to plastic products and is eager to share more information about places where people can swap various items in the future.
Sheffield Action on Plastic wants to help and support community members to make small changes that lead to significant positive impacts.
Sheffield Action on Plastic is running a plastic-free market, as part of their mission to reduce single-use plastics in the community.
The volunteer-run organisation is holding their next market on Sunday, November 3, between 10:30am and 4pm at The Steamworks.
Greg Hewiit, 36, and Founder of Sheffield Action on Plastic said: “When I moved to Sheffield I realised that there were a lot of markets and a lot of plastic being used.
“Whether it was plastic bags, packaging, or pint cups, the problem was massive. “
The plastic-free markets aim to help people find plastic-free alternatives in all aspects of life, such as bathroom goods, food and drink, health and beauty products, stationery, and much more, while also showing that events can be held sustainably.
Greg said the film about The Great Pacific Garbage Patch inspired him to combat plastic pollution.
Greg said: “The more I started learning about what was going on the more I wanted to start doing something about it.”
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific and the largest acclimation of plastic in the open ocean.
Greg said: “Since researching the issue, I have run a few events, like festivals and markets relating to reducing waste and plastic, over the last fourteen years.”
Wanting to tackle the issue further, Greg decided to host his own market that was entirely plastic free.
“So I thought right, let’s have a market where there is no single use plastic anywhere. We did that in April, and it was really great and successful.”
Entry to the plastic-free market is free, and attendees are welcome to make donations to support the community group.
As well as businesses selling their products, there is also food and drink on sale, along with live music.
Sheffield Action on Plastic offers a reusable hire cup scheme, allowing businesses to rent cups for use at events.
Greg said: “We hire out our reusable cups so it gets other people thinking about minimising single-use plastics.
“We have a meeting scheduled with the council to get them to think more about what they can do because they currently don’t have any policy around reducing single-use plastics.
“The ultimate aim would be for Sheffield City Council to put a ban on events providing disposable cups.”
Sheffield Christmas Markets alone see around 35,000–40,000 attendees every year, and with no rules on single-use plastics, it’s unmeasurable how much plastic ends up in landfill.
As well as Christmas, annually, Sheffield residents produce close to 200,000 tonnes of waste, enough to fill Ponds Forge swimming pool 161 times.
Greg said, “You can make one or two swaps, and you would still make a difference, it’s all possible.”
The group also has a website with plastic alternatives and is excited to share information about future item-swapping locations.
Sheffield Action on Plastic aims to help community members make small changes, leading to significant positive impacts on sustainability.
You can find more information about the plastic-free markets and Sheffield Action on Plastic here.
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