In England, Manningtree and its nearly 800 inhabitants on the shores of the North Sea have just obtained the status of “free plastic community”, which can be translated as “commune without plastic”, officially awarded by the association of environmental protection Surfers Against Sewage. It is the culmination of two years of work to convince, change habits, reinvent daily life led by Bekki Bibko, 40 years old. In 2020, while sorting her garbage cans, this mother of two teenagers and carer of autistic children realized that the recyclables bin was overflowing as much as that of household waste, that sorting did not reduce waste production and that she wasn’t going to fix this on her own. Shops, businesses, the town hall had to get involved too. So she started by organizing a first waste collection walk around the village.
Manningtree is the smallest town in England – and it dreams of saving the planet https://t.co/UnnpWgljvF
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) April 10, 2022
His neighbors signed up, then others. And on D-Day, 70 people came with their gloves and garbage bags. The next time, the participants ditched the trash bags for reusable bags. And then the next time, at the end, they planted trees in a square. And so on… In two years, Bekki Bibko has succeeded in getting his whole village excited about the same challenge: reducing the production of plastic waste and thus preserving the forest, the town’s river and the sea at the end. She also convinced the town hall to hold the annual party without any waste, knocked on the doors of all the businesses to offer them to participate in her challenge. And everyone got involved: the grocer, the chef of the Italian restaurant, the manager of the hotel, the record seller, the owner of the pub. All took a passion for the search for alternatives.
We are all temporary tenants of this planet, and it is our duty to leave these territories in good condition.
Manningtree resident Bekki Bibkoat the BBC
A success therefore crowned by this label of “city without plastic”. For Bekki Bibko, this is proof that it is possible, proof that she now wants to use to convince the surrounding municipalities to do the same. “I thinkshe told the BBC, that we are all temporary tenants of this planet, and it is our duty to leave these territories in good condition, for that, there is the question of waste, but I hope that we can start stronger changes, on transport, agriculture, and the more of us there are, the more we can do it“.