'Don't Even Think About It'

Here at PFND HQ we are as fed up as the rest of you with the amount of litter that seems to have increasingly got worse since the end of lockdown. We have seen various litter campaign posters shared around on social media and have been asked numerous times about how we are going to help with this problem and are we going to create a litter poster too.

And yes we have.

We have launched our ‘Don’t even think about it’ campaign within Braunton Tesco. The idea behind this campaign is two pronged. We are calling for individuals to really think about the life cycle and quality of any items they purchase, such as inflatables, BBQ’s or bodyboards and food purchased for picnics but we also want to ensure that these products are not irresponsibly left in the environment.

We believe individuals need to ask themselves questions prior to making purchases in order to reduce waste: What happens to these items once they have been purchased and are out of the store? Will this bodyboard last more than a few go’s? Will it release polystyrene after only a few uses? Where will it go when it does break? How long will the inflatable toy last? Where will it go when it has burst? Where do they put their rubbish if the bins are full? Or how will I get rid of this disposable BBQ ?

Whilst Tesco Braunton are currently unable to to take such items off the shelves, the manager believes it vital for her store, which is the closest to the very popular Saunton Sands beach, to encourage its customers to behave responsibly with any purchases made. With North Devon receiving over 5 million visitors each year it is necessary for everyone to play their part in protecting the place everyone has come to visit and enjoy.

However……...

Have we not been doing this for years? Has society lost its sense in pride of its surroundings or is there another question that needs to be asked? One that looks at the bigger picture and ultimately looks at how we have come to this situation in the first place.

At PFND we totally believe that individuals have the responsibility to clean up after themselves no matter the situation. But we also believe that big business should be held accountable too.

There is a much bigger question that needs to be asked: Why is the plastics industry and big business still not being held accountable for the full impact their products are having on our natural world? Why are we still needing to pump out anti littering campaigns to try to offset the increasing amount of plastic packaging and cheap single use items being produced and sold? Why is plastic production set to quadruple by 2050 when we know how detrimental it is? The answers are complex but that won’t stop us fighting against it.

We are asking everyone to take the steps below to continually call this industry to account whether it is educating yourself on the issue, writing to your MP, calling out brands on social media or sending your packaging back, we can all do something.

Call to action:

What you can do to call the plastics industry to account:

Be a conscious consumer - buy quality over quantity
Use your voice: Write to your mp https://www.writetothem.com/ asking them what they plan on doing to tackle the crisis
Write to offending businesses asking them how they are going to tackle the plastic pollution problem they are causing.
Educate yourself around the plastics pandemic:
- The problem with plastic pollution - A simple guide to the problem from City 2 Sea
- The Hidden Costs of a Plastic Planet - A CIEL Report in to the climate impacts of plastic. A very informative and important read
Continue to call our companies to account when you see their branded litter on our streets and beaches See the Surfers Against Sewage Return to Offender campaign for how to do it.
Join local supermarket mass unwrap events or organise one yourself!
If you receive a parcel with unnecessary packaging, send it back asking the business to address the problem.