THE launch of a campaign to make Penarth a ‘plastic free’ town will take place next week.

Local community environmental organisation Gwyrddio Penarth Greening (GPG) will be launching Plastic Free Penarth - which will aim to raise awareness of the damage plastic causes to the environment.

Towns across the UK have been getting on board with the concept of becoming plastic free - not necessarily meaning completely without plastic but rather a concerted effort to cut down on disposable plastic waste - as more information about the horrendous damage plastic is doing to marine life in particular comes to light.

The GPG meeting will also be an opportunity to hear news from other plastic free community campaigns and share ideas and plans to reduce the amount of polluting single use plastic is used in Penarth.

GPG committee member Anthony Slaughter said: “There is a growing awareness of the serious environmental damage being caused by our increasing use of plastic, particularly after the issue was raised on the recent BBC ‘Blue Planet’ series.

“GPG have been approached by a number of Penarth residents keen to discuss this problem and to find practical ways for the community to engage. Plastic finds its way into our environment from every location on earth. Stopping our reliance on unnecessary single use plastic at source is key to becoming plastic free.”

Mr Slaughter said he hopes to get the backing of residents and businesses.

He said: “GPG has been going for several years and we have ongoing projects to help the environment. We thought the Plastic Free Penarth campaign would resonate well and we have had people very interested already."

“There are three towns which are currently plastic free in Wales and we are hoping to be the fourth.

“We had the Shop In Penarth scheme and the traders were very keen on that and have said they would support it.

“It’s about getting the community together to help the community.”

During the event on May 3 at the pavilion building in Belle Vue Park at 7pm, speakers will include the Cardiff’s No Straw Stand campaign and the Benthyg Library of Things, as well as other local groups and organisations.

The campaign will be part of the wider Plastic Free Coastlines campaign and one aim is for Penarth to join other Welsh towns such as Aberporth and Aberystwyth in achieving Plastic Free Town status.