Chloe Smith MP Pledges to stop using plastic straws on a visit to see AVIVA’s Shelley the Turtle

On Friday 27th April, Chloe Smith MP pledged to stop using plastic straws on a visit to see Aviva’s Shelley the Turtle.

 

The turtle has been specially created from plastic bottles collected from the Thames Estuary by Aviva volunteers to raise awareness for World Earth Day which was on the 22^nd April. 

 

Shelley has toured Aviva’s UK offices where staff have been given the opportunity to make their own plastic pledge.  And this week it has been centre stage in Norwich. 

 

In addition to the employee pledges, Aviva has also been making changes such as below, with plans to build on these:

• Replacing take away plastic cutlery with a compostable alternative.
• Offering reusable water bottles as part of Shelly’s tour to cut down on plastic cup use.
• Doubled the incentive on re-usable coffee cups to 20p for hot drinks bought in on site cafés.
• Replaced take away food bags with paper alternatives in on site cafes.

Over 900 items of plastic were used to make the turtle and sea, including bottles, straws and bottle caps, the items also included tennis balls, milk cartons, plastic cups, a washing basket lid and even a rubber duck.

 

As part of the tour, staff have been encouraged to donate to the Marine Conservation Society who work to keep our seas healthy, pollution free and protected.

 

 

Chloe Smith MP said: “I’m proud that a major Norwich employer is leading the way with lots of people in Norwich thinking again about the plastics we use. The turtle is a clever way of illustrating the scourge of plastics. I will be looking at my own use of plastics and through my role in Parliament I’ll be supporting this Government’s mission to leave the environment in a better state than we find it. This will mean a better world for our children and for wildlife.”

 

Matt Deakin, Aviva’s UK environment manager, said:  “Shelley has really created a buzz around the sites we have visited and it clearly shows the extent of plastic pollution in our seas.  Our people are really keen to make a change and reduce their plastic use and we as a business will support them by continuing to increase our ambition with a particular focus on disposable cups and single-use plastic items.”