Girlguiding makes a #PlasticPromise

Reducing plastic waste and supporting girls to make change - read about our own #PlasticPromise

We’re making a #PlasticPromise to support girls and young women to stand up and speak out about tackling plastic pollution. And we promise to cut the use of unnecessary single-use plastic across our work by the end of 2020.

How we’re supporting girls to stand up and speak out

  • Future Girl Acts gives girls of all ages the chance to tell people why they care about plastic pollution, make their own #PlasticPromise to make a change in their life and to call on politicians to listen to their voices in environmental decision-making.
  • We’re supporting girls to take the campaign into their communities and ask their friends, peers and families to make a #PlasticPromise too.
  • We’re asking our young members to tell us what they’d like a UK-wide deposit return scheme to look like. We want the government to make sure any scheme is accessible for all young people.

What we’re already doing to reduce single-use plastic

  • We’ve replaced all single-use plastic straws, plates, cutlery, water bottles and food packaging with sustainable alternatives at our national events and activity centres.
  • We’ve stopped using plastic bags at events, for example for goody bags.
  • We’re working closely with our suppliers to minimise the packaging on products, especially single-use plastic, and to  use compostable and kerbside recyclable packaging.
  • In some cases, using single-use plastic is necessary to support inclusive guiding and we’ll continue to prioritise accessibility for all girls and volunteers across our activities. Disabled inidividuals may need to use single-use plastic products where the alternatives aren’t suitable for their needs. 

What else we’ll do to live up to our promise

  • We’ll replace any single-use plastic items used in activities at our events with sustainable alternatives that can be reused, recycled or are compostable. For example, using glass jars instead of plastic to make slime and replacing glitter with a sustainable alternative.
  • We’ll replace all plastic cups near our water fountains with recyclable paper ones. 
  • We’ll seek to minimise the environmental impact of future programme activities.
  • We’ll continue to work with third parties, encouraging them to eliminate unnecessary single-use plastic. And we’ll actively seek and choose suppliers with the best environmental credentials.
  • We’ll keep reviewing the use of any single-use plastic across our operations and make plans to eliminate this wherever possible. We’ll always aim to do this as fast as possible.
  • We’ll check-in with our members to ask them how we’re doing in living up to our promise.
  • We’ll continue to work with expert environmental organisations and partners to create more opportunities for girls to learn, speak out and take action as Planet Protectors.

 

Make your promise to end plastic pollution

We know that girls and young women are worried about the damage that plastic waste does to our planet and the animals we share it with. Make a #PlasticPromise today and help us make a difference.

Join the Planet Protectors now