Sign up to our single use plastics pledge

Sign up to our pledge and commit to reducing, and ultimately removing, your single use plastic waste. You can pledge to do as much or as little as you can.

St Bede’s RC Primary School, Sacriston sign the pledge March 2019

Plastic roads technology used to resurface a section of the A689 near Sedgefield August 2018

Plastic bottles on the beach Plastic pollution

Sign up to our award winning single use plastics pledge

Join our network and Sign up to our single use plastics pledge today to tell us how you are planning to reduce your plastic waste.

What single use plastic is and why it is a problem

Single use plastics are used only once before they are thrown away or recycled. These items are things like plastic bags, straws, coffee stirrers, water bottles and most food packaging.

It is thought that more than five trillion pieces of plastic are in the world's oceans and it can take years for it to break down. Most of it isn't biodegradable, it doesn't rot like paper or food and so it can hang around in the environment for hundreds of years.

What happens to your plastic

Find out what happens to your plastic on our What happens to your recycling page.

How you can reduce your use of single use plastics

There are all sorts of things you can choose to do your bit such as:

carry a shopping bag instead of buying a plastic bag
carry a reusable bottle - download Refill mobile app to find out where you can refill your bottle
take a reusable coffee cup - some cafés and shops even offer a small discount if you use your own cup
say no to plastic straws
avoid excessive food packaging
say no to disposable cutlery
pack your lunch in reusable containers
get your milk delivered - you can find your nearest delivery on Find Me A Milkman
avoid using microbeads which are mainly found in exfoliating face and body scrubs, shower gels, toothpastes

What businesses can do to reduce use of single use plastics

promote staff awareness days
encourage staff to bring reusable water bottles and lunch boxes into the workplace
carry out an internal audit and seek alternatives to single use plastics where possible
work with your procurement team to encourage your suppliers to reduce single use plastics

What community groups can do to reduce use of single use plastics

help us spread the word, encourage others to sign up to the County Durham Single Use Plastics Pledge!
lead by example, encourage others to get rid of single use plastics such as straws, coffee stirrers, plastic cups