With new laws about single-use plastic coming into force in October, Plastic Free Thanet wants to help businesses to remove barriers to going plastic free, stopping the flow of plastic onto our streets and beaches.

We’re so grateful to marine conservation charity Sea-changers, for funding Plastic Free Thanet’s business engagement project to prompt behaviour change working with local businesses.

Over the next few months, with our funding from Sea-changers, we'll be helping them to remove single-use plastic from their operations and become Surfers Against Sewage Plastic Free Champions. 

Our first step is finding out what our local businesses in Thanet think about litter and single-use plastics. We want your honest answers so we can tailor our help to you. If you own a business in Thanet, please fill out our survey and if you don't, please pass this on to businesses you buy from so they can take part.

It’s thanks to the incredible support that Sea-changers provide that vital work like this can be achieved. As well as our project, Sea-changers is funding ocean conservation and plastic reduction projects up and down the country.

Providing  coastal water fountains is one way they are helping to encourage a refill and reuse culture. Rise Up Clean Up’s coastal water fountains campaign wants to see Thanet District Council and Southern Water install a drinking fountain on Margate Main Sands, to eliminate the use of disposable plastics on the beachfront and provide clean safe water for residents and visitors.

If your community group would like a water fountain in other parts of Thanet, Sea-changers have a fund you can apply to and Plastic Free Thanet are keen to hear about it so we can support your application. The deadline is coming up fast on 28 February so apply now on the Sea-changers website and get in touch with jess@co-relate.co.uk for help or just to let us know.

We would like to thank Sea-changers for their ongoing support for these essential projects in coastal areas such as ours, and we hope that we can continue to find new ways of protecting our seafront for this and many generations to come.