Last year, my daughter Millie, aged 10 at the time, wrote to Theresa May having done topic work at school on plastics in the ocean. She’d recently been voted into pupil parliament and was hoping for a few leadership tips from the current prime minister.
When she received a reply from Downing Street she was ecstatic.
Earlier this year I was chosen to represent my region as a Community Trade Ambassador for the Body Shop At Home. Along with the work we do with ingredients for our products with people all over the world, we launched a project with Plastics 4 Change. We have started working with litter pickers to recycle the plastics already filling our planet. We are also paying them a fair price and safer working conditions. My daughter was so excited, she told me about the turtles and wanted to arrange a local litter pick. We did this with our MP Lee Rowley, and some local residents.
We then decided together to create this petition
At 12 years old, I’m so proud of her. She was in our local town newspaper the Sheffield Star and was even interviewed on BBC Radio Sheffield. Together we’re determined to make a difference and impact our planet.
We want to protect our planet and make it safer for everyone, but this protection has to start somewhere, and our young people are our future.
My daughter wrote to Theresa May last year and now we are working together to campaign for purposeful plastics education in schools.
The Education Secretary, The RT Hon Damian Hinds, MP, has urged all schools to eliminate their use of single use plastics by 2022. He has called on senior leaders in schools to stop using items such as plastic bags, straws, bottles and food packaging in favour of sustainable alternatives, and invited them to start a conversation with pupils about the effects discarded plastics have on the environment and wildlife.
We want children to be educated in United Kingdom schools about these changes, from ages of compulsory schooling. So from age 3, through to age 18, each term there should be compulsory of education around the purposeful use of plastics.
Just as dropping litter has been taught, road safety, personal and sexual education, we need to educate our children in using less plastic, but recycling and re-using the plastic we do use.
Right through the school compulsory years of education, children and young adults should be provided with information and education on how harmful waste can be, specifically plastic which ends up in the oceans damaging animals and our environment.
The lessons should not be completely on plastic waste but on the up-cycling or recycling of plastic, creative artwork, environmental and financial benefits.
You can sign and share our petition here
We currently have 737 signatures at the time of this blog. I’d love for you to comment on this blog which number you were if you signed and also if you signed and shared our blog. I’d love to hit 1000 signatures and it would mean the world to my daughter Millie
sarahsthinkingagain 