BEAUMARIS has become the first town in north west of Wales to be awarded plastic-free status.

The Plastic Free Beaumaris (PFB) campaign was launched by residents in 2019 to reduce single-use plastic in the town following fears over the potential impact of pollution on the coast.

They held activities and training sessions with funding from social enterprise Menter Môn aimed at encouraging businesses and residents to cut their use of throw-away plastic such as straws, cutlery and packaging.

As a result the group has received Plastic-Free Community accreditation from environmental charity Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), which recognises the work which has been done to increase awareness and encourage people to think about their use of plastic.

PFB group co-ordinator Gwen Evans-Jones said: "We are thrilled to receive this status – and as the first town on Anglesey to do so I hope we can inspire others to follow suit. Since plastic pollution made the headlines a few years ago we are much more aware of the problems it causes marine wildlife and the damage it does.

“As a seaside town we were keen to do something about it – and for us it's all about how we can work together to try and make a difference.”

Robert Charlton, owner of Italian restaurant Tredici, was one of the businesses to work with the campaign group.

“We were only too pleased to get on board with Plastic-Free Beaumaris,” he said. “It was something we had looked at as a business for a while, so this gave us the encouragement we needed.

“We’re delighted that the town has now achieved this important status.”

Sioned Thomas from Menter Môn who has been supporting the team throughout, said the campaign will continue to contact businesses to further reduce plastic use in the local economy.

She said: “This is a real achievement and we are pleased that the towns’ businesses have embraced the campaign and our efforts to reduce single use plastic. Many have changed their practices, replacing plastic with sustainable alternatives and are now either free of single-use plastics or working towards this goal.

“Our next step is to see to encourage more businesses to get on board. This is even more important now with reports that there has been a huge increase in single use plastic in the wake of Covid19.”

Carwyn Jones, county councillor for the Seiriol ward, said: “It will be a challenge to be totally plastic-free, but it is great that the people of Beaumaris have shown such commitment to eliminating plastic waste from our environment.”