RNCM backs Plastic Free Greater Manchester campaign

The RNCM is backing Andy Burnham’s environmental pledge to remove single-use plastics by 2020 and make Greater Manchester one of the leading green cities in Europe.

To help realise these ambitions, the Mayor of Greater Manchester hosted a landmark Green Summit on 21 March, bringing together environmental experts, interest groups, partner agencies, academics and local people to accelerate the city’s green ambitions. Several pledges were discussed throughout the day, including one by leading names in hospitality and tourism to remove single-use plastics by 2020.

The Plastic Free Greater Manchester campaign, launched at the Summit by Hotel Football owner and ex-Manchester United player Gary Neville, is set to put Greater Manchester at the forefront of taking action to eliminate single-use plastics over the next two years. The campaign targets businesses and local people, encouraging them to make the shift away from single-use plastics to renewable alternatives.

The RNCM has already made significant steps to reduce its carbon footprint, replacing plastic straws with biodegradable stock and using 100% recyclable plastic containers and plastic glasses. Enhancing this further, from September 2018 the College plans to:

• stop using straws altogether
• replace plastic cutlery (currently limited use) with wooden
• use 100% recyclable paper cups for hot drinks 
• promote the use of go-mugs and go-bottles
• provide dedicated waste bins for all plastic items to ensure they are recycled

Andy Burnham said: ‘People have been horrified by the images on our televisions showing just how polluted our oceans and rivers have become through plastic waste. But this isn’t just happening on the other side of the world. Last week we heard the difficult news that Greater Manchester’s rivers were some of the most polluted. It’s clear that we cannot just carry on as usual – the time has come for action.

‘Greater Manchester is a region renowned for innovation – we’re large enough to experiment at scale, yet small enough to come together and innovate at speed… I’m proud that major figures from Greater Manchester’s hospitality and tourism industry have chosen the Green Summit as a platform to launch this campaign that could help make Greater Manchester the first UK city-region that eliminates single-use plastics… It won’t be without challenges, but Greater Manchester is all about leading the way and doing things that bit differently.’

13 April 2018