Hello all,

My last few posts have been around my fabulous holiday to Cornwall. Today I will also be talking about Cornwall. But this will be a bit different.

A few months ago I was searching online for a reusable coffee cup, I wanted a good quality one from a good sustainable source. I stumbled across a charity called Surfers Against Sewage. I’d never heard of them before, so I did some looking around on their website and was immediately happy with what I found.

They are a charity dedicated to reducing plastic waste, so it doesn’t enter our oceans and end up back on our beaches, inside the magnificent creatures that call the waters their homes, or even inside us. They do beach cleans, they help communities go plastic free, they sell things made of bamboo rather than plastic, there’s so much amazing stuff. Besides all of this, the thing which brings me back to glorious Cornwall, is where they first started- St Agnes.

If you’ve never been to Saint Agnes, it’s a little cove in Cornwall. We have been once and had a walk across the beach. Me and my brother had a look inside the little cave, but not too far as the tide was coming in and you have to remember to stay safe on the beach, around the water and the rocks.

I decided after looking at their website I would buy a bamboo coffee cup from them. They had one in a lovely aqua blue. You can buy it in other colours too. The cup is about £12. I bought it because I occasionally find myself buying a cup of tea once or twice a week, maybe more in the winter. So, while I do recycle where I can, why not just add that to my bag for work. I could also use at work if I wanted.

I do tend to carry a fair bit in my bag, but I wanted to try this and see if it was really worth my buying it and carrying it around. It really is. It is something I am using and if I can reduce my plastic waste by one cup a week, then that’s something.

(This photo is of my Aqua blue mug and some bees wax wrap I got from the website)

Before I continue, when it comes to reducing plastic waste, I believe that if we all do one thing, be it using a bamboo coffee cup, taking packed lunches to work, or using a tote bag, we can all make a difference in our own way. Everyone can be more conscious. But. What works for one- does not work for all. You shouldn’t shame someone for not using x y or z, they might be using shampoo bars at home, they might be not buying tea bags, they might be using public transport and not owning a car. Everyone can impact the environment in their own way and we should not judge people.

Anyway, back to SAS. Whilst on holiday I noticed the beach cafes were not selling plastic bottles. They were all cans. The water they sold was in resealable cans. This was brilliant because I didn’t see one pop bottle lid on Porth Minster. WIN!

I did however see bits of plastic which contrasted with the sand. So as SAS asks us to do, if you pick up one piece of plastic on your walk along the beach, if possible, then you’re helping to prevent that plastic going in the ocean. It was sad that I had to pick up a pizza box. But the bin had been emptied so it I was able to throw it away. I saw a lump of what I thought was a fishing net. But on closer inspection and looking through a book we had with us, it turned out to be a bit of sea life. It was quite stringy and lumpy.

It was brilliant seeing all the posters from SAS encouraging people to do their bit. Also letting holiday people know what St Ives is doing to help protect their coastline. If you’ve never been to Cornwall you need to. You have to experience it for yourself, I absolutely love it. There was a family doing a beach clean too. I saw them with a big hessian bag. It had the SAS logo on. I think its wonderful families are teaching their children about this.

If you want to know how to get involved with a beach clean you can look here. There are also some great tips on their website for eco living and so much more.

(This photo here is from 2017, I found a roll of duck tape in the harbour while we were walking from the harbour to Porth Minster. I picked it up and put it in a bin)

Please consider making one small change. Turning off more lights when you’re not in those rooms, using a bamboo coffee cup, switching to bars of soap, or just using a tote bag and saying no to a plastic one.

Thank you.

I’m on Twitter @PhilippaB                                                                                                     I’m on Instagram @VisuallyImpairedPip                                                                          My email is randomlyanxious@gmail.com

I am in no way affiliated to Surfers Against Sewage, I just love what they do.