Hi! I just wanted to update you and let you know that our campaign to encourage beverage manufacturers to get rid of plastic rings from can multipacks has now caught the attention of the local authority in my home county of Essex.

Almost 310,000 of you have now signed, and a number of manufacturers have already stopped producing these rings that pose such a huge threat to wildlife when discarded carelessly.

Carlsberg, Guinness and Heineken are just three brands where you can now expect to find the cans attached together using far less harmful methods, and so it’s a great start - slowly but surely.

In another exciting development, as the petition’s organiser I have been approached by an employee of Essex County Council (my home county) to see if there is a way to ensure that this campaign has a legacy far beyond what it has already achieved.

The local authority is keen to not only fight back against climate change in our own area using the power of social media, but it also wants to inspire the rest of the UK to follow a ‘digital first’ approach to achieve widespread behavioural change.

That all may sound a bit poncy, but in simple terms they have realised that Facebook is a far more effective tool than simply screaming at people with a load of flyers and telling them that the world is going to end :)

Kirsty O'Callaghan is Essex County Council's Head of Strengthening Communities, and she asked me to add:

“The petition has done an amazing job of raising awareness about the dangers to wildlife that are posed by plastic multipack rings, and it would be amazing to hear the wider environmental views of some of these passionate voices to help us develop a digital-first climate change strategy that will help Essex to inspire the rest of the UK.

"We’ve already adopted a similar ‘community-owned’ approach to fighting Covid-19, raising awareness of young male suicide, building an army of volunteers from scratch and much more.”

We have a collaboration Facebook page set up now at https://www.facebook.com/greenessex/
and it would be great to have you all over there for a like and a follow.

It doesn’t matter where you’re from. The people who have the power to influence environmental decision making at a regional level will be taking your views and opinions on board.

Thanks,

Simon