The East of England Plastics Coalition was established in January 2019 by Anglian Water and environmental consultancy Eunomia (acting as Coalition secretariat), following the water company’s ambitious pledge to rid the East of England of plastic pollution by 2030.

 

Bringing together local authorities, private businesses and NGOs motivated by this goal, the Coalition allows partners to pool resources, link up networks and avoid unnecessary duplication of efforts in the fight against plastic pollution.

Together, the Coalition:

 

  • Seeks improved information on the nature, prevalence and sources of plastic pollution in the East of England.
  • Develops evidenced-based recommendations for actions that can be taken by the public, private and third sectors, and individuals to address plastic pollution.
  • Coordinates partner efforts to implement circular solutions to collected plastic waste and marine debris.
  • Holds regular meetings for two working groups, bringing together partners with a particular interest and experience in two priority areas: unflushables and marine debris.
  • Supports policy development by communicating the Group’s work to third parties including the government and other key stakeholders.

 

Members

The Coalition currently consists of 25 members, across local authorities, NGOs and private businesses. These members lead on priority decision making and action implementation.

 

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Some of our partners' projects

 

Preventing Plastics Pollution (PPP)

The Coalition is supporting partner The Rivers Trust with the Interreg funded Preventing Plastics Pollution (PPP) project, piloting a catchment-based management approach to address plastic pollution for the Great Ouse river.

 

Assessing the catchment from source to sea, this project will help to identify plastics hotspots and so allow local action at a community and business level. By using the Coalition’s knowledge and network, the Rivers Trust hopes to create lasting impact beyond the lifespan of the PPP project.

Don't Let Go campaign

As a Coalition we fully support the Marine Conservation Society’s Don’t Let Go campaign and actively work to encourage councils and private landowners to ban balloon and lantern releases from their land.

 

When balloons and lanterns return to land, they can entangle or choke wildlife and even start fires. Find out more information on the campaign and how you can pledge your support here.

 

FACET project

Coalition partners Great Yarmouth Borough Council and Norfolk County Council are tapping into other partners’ knowledge to provide strategic insight for their work on the Interreg funded FACET project.

 

This venture looks to facilitate circular economy solutions within Great Yarmouth’s tourism and leisure industries, with a particular focus on tackling fast food packaging waste. Great Yarmouth have teamed up with partner City to Sea City to Sea which runs the Refill scheme best known for water refills, recently expanded to include takeaway food and shopping in personal reusable containers.

Marine Debris Pilot Project on the North Norfolk Coast

A pilot project run in partnership by the East of England Plastics Coalition (EEPC) Marine Debris Removal Working Group, in collaboration with Odyssey Innovation, and funded by Natural England.

 

The project aims to collect marine debris that is washed onto the shoreline, sort into dedicated bins, and then conduct analysis to determine the types and quantities of debris collected. Following this, potential routes to recycling will be established, which will help inform a permanent solution to marine debris in the region.

 

This information will help establish recycling routes for the marine debris, inform stakeholder engagement and set up the foundations to help local nature recovery in the region.

Contact Us

For more information on the East of England Plastics Coalition, our activities and how to get involved, please contact the secretariat at: eoeplasticscoalition@eunomia.co.uk