Armed with clipboards, Huddersfield Friends of the Earth volunteers undertook a ‘Plastic is not Fantastic’ pub/ cafe crawl around Huddersfield this Saturday 21 July, finding out what steps local businesses were taking to reduce plastic waste. The group particularly focused on whether the establishments would sign up to being part of the Refill scheme, whereby people can fill up their reuseable water bottles for free, and also the #NoSuckingPlastic campaign which asks that straws are not given automatically to customers and only given if customers specifically ask for them.

The group found that several pubs/ bars already operated a policy of only giving out straws when specifically asked for:

The Northern Quarter bar supporting Refill scheme and #NoSuckingPlastic campaign

• Coffee Cali
• Green Island
• Plumbers’ Arms
• The Corner
• The County
• The Crown (Stonegate pubs policy)
• The Northern Quarter
• The Olde Hatte
• The Vulcan
• The Warehouse

In addition, several of the pubs and cafes surveyed around Huddersfield were also found to have switched to paper straws or even biodegradable ones.

There was also a positive response from cafes and bars signing up to join the Refill scheme www.refill.org.uk/ with 22 local cafes, bars and shops already signed up. Several more pubs and cafes agreed to join the Refill scheme on the day and will soon be added to the Refill website. These included:

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  The Sportsman pub signing up to Refill scheme

  Boy & Barrel

• Cafe Novo
• Coffee Cali
• Northern Quarter
• Plumber’s Arms
• The King’s Head
• The Parish
• The Sportsman
• The Vulcan
• The Warehouse
• Turtle Bay

The group also found positive policies from many coffee shops regarding regarding takeaway coffee, making it easier and sometimes cheaper for customers wanting to bring a reuseable coffee cup.

 

Coffeevolution already supporting the Refill scheme

Lesley Hawthorn from Huddersfield Friends of the Earth commented: “We had a very positive response from the bars and cafes we visited and some encouraging commitments to reducing plastic waste. There is still a lot to do but it was good to know that Huddersfield businesses are aware of the issues and acting on them.”

 

The Huddersfield FoE group were not able to get around all the Huddersfield cafes and bars. If your business is not mentioned on the Huddersfield Friends of the Earth list but would like to join the Refill scheme or support the #NoSuckingPlastic campaign, please contact huddersfieldfoe@yahoo.co.uk who will help share and celebrate your #plasticfree policies.