The Problem with Plastic

Plastic is lightweight, virtually indestructible and cheap to produce. It has been the ultimate miracle material in the home, in business and within industry. The downside of course is that far too much of it that has become waste! In fact, by 2015 humans had produced 6.3 billion tons of plastic waste and just 9% of it was recycled globally.

The Great Nurdle Hunt

Nurdles are plastic pellets used by industry to make nearly all our plastic products. Huge quantities of nurdles end up in the sea due to accidental spills. There are then mistaken for food by many animals, nurdles and the toxins coating them can enter the food chain.

Find out how you can make a difference

Other Useful Links

Plastic Free North Devon
2-Minute Beach Clean
Crisp Packet Recycling
Plastic Free Pantry

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The Plastic Free North Devon Consortium

The Plastic Free North Devon consortium was set up in April 2018 to combat the global problem of plastic pollution through local action. The consortium consists of representatives from a number of charities, voluntary groups and organisations:

• Barnstaple Town Council
• Barnstaple and District Chamber of Commerce
• Beaford
• Devon County Council
• Ilfracombe Town Council
• Keep Britain Tidy
• National Trust
• North Devon Biosphere
• North Devon Coast AONB
• North Devon Council
• Plastic Free North Devon
• PETROC College of Further and Higher Education
• South Molton Town Council
• Torridge District Council
• 2 Minute Beach Clean
• Westward Ho! Business Association
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In January 2019 the group agreed the Plastic Free North Devon Consortium Strategy which will work across four key areas – communities, tourism, farming and fishing, and other businesses – with the aim of making the biggest and most immediate impacts on the plastic problem in our area.

The consortium’s strategy includes an action plan, which has a number of aims:

• increase education about the impact of plastic waste
• reduce plastic consumptior
• remove plastic that has entered the natural environment
• recycle or dispose of used plastic appropriately
• deliver projects to ensure their message is reaching the
• people and businesses of northern Devon

​The action plan focuses not only on the shoreline, but also on the problem of plastics in the rural inland areas. For more information on how you can reduce your consumption of single-use plastics and to find out about local events, follow Plastic Free North Devon's Facebook page.

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On Holiday? You can do your bit too

Every year North Devon also welcomes around five million visitors . This increase in local population has a huge environmental impact with the increased amounts of single use plastic bought and then thrown away. Visitors to the area can help by ensuring they do their bit to help protect and preserve our beautiful Biosphere.