CHESTER is the first city in the North West and one of the first in the country to be awarded 'plastic-free' status.

It received the gong from marine conservation charity, Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) in recognition of the work it has done to start reducing the impact of single-use plastic on the environment.

Local SAS representative, Dr Christian Dunn and Helen Tandy from the local Friends of the Earth Group (FoE) started the campaign earlier this year after the success of a campaign aimed at making Chester the first city to stop using plastic drinking straws.

Registering with the SAS Plastic Free Communities movement, Dr Dunn, Mrs Tandy and the rest of the FoE group pulled together key organisations and businesses in the town to put in place a five-point plan.

The objectives include; setting up a community led steering group, instigating the SAS Plastic Free Schools education programme, getting local council commitment and working with local businesses, organisations and community groups to spread the word and minimise the amount of disposable plastics they use.

Dr Dunn, who is a biology lecturer at Bangor University said: “It’s been an incredible year since we started campaigning on the problems of plastic waste in Chester.

“To be honest, I’m a little blown-away with the support that everyone in Chester has shown – we were even described in the Guardian newspaper as one of the UK’s most ‘anti-plastic’ cities.

“But working with SAS to get plastic-free status is what it’s all been about and everyone involved with #PlasticFreeChester is absolutely delighted.”

“It’s fantastic recognition for all the hard work so many people have put in,” Dr Dunn added.

Mrs Tandy, co-ordinator for Friends of the Earth Chester and District, said: “We’re absolutely delighted that Chester has been recognised for leading the way in fighting our overuse of plastic.

“This isn’t the end of the campaign though – this is actually the first step in the right direction.

“We’ve lots more to do, and we’re going to continue working with SAS and everyone in Chester to keep the momentum going,” Mrs Tandy added.

The Surfers Against Sewage Plastic Free Community network aims to free the places where we live from single-use. Using the five point plan the aim is to empower communities to kick start local grassroots action, which can then be built upon.

The marine conservation charity, based in St Agnes in Cornwall, says it wants to unite communities to tackle avoidable plastic from the beach all the way back to the brands and businesses who create it. It says it is not about removing all plastic from our lives, but kicking our addiction to throwaway plastic and changing the system that produces it.

Rachel Yates, SAS Plastic Free Communities Project Officer, said: “It’s great to see the work that Chester has done to reduce the availability of avoidable plastics, raise awareness and encourage people to refill and reuse.

“We have over four hundred communities across the UK working to reduce single use plastic and the impact it has on our environment. Every step those communities and the individuals in them take is a step towards tackling the problem at source, challenging our throwaway culture and encouraging the habit changes we need to see.”