Chesterfield community raise money for reusable cups as part of upcoming Plastic Free Festival

The event, organised by campaign group Plastic Free Chesterfield, will be held on July 31 at Central Methodist Church and aims to live up to its name by ensuring no single use plastics are given out at the festival.

Britain uses 2.5 billion plastic-lined coffee cups every year and each disposable cup takes 30 years to decompose with only one in 400 cups ending up being recycled.

The crowdfunded reusable cups purchased by businesses and residents will be branded with a Chesterfield themed design and created by local illustrator, Chris Livings.

Organisations, such as CCS Media, One Keg Ltd and The Cheese Factor, which donated money to sponsor the campaign will have their names featured on the sustainable cups which will be available for the public to either loan to hold their drink or buy at the festival.

Steph's Sustainable Stuff, Monkey Park, Crooked Pickle Co and Elsie Moss Botanical are also sponsoring the reusable cups, after recent sustainable drink schemes have grown in popularity at football clubs and festivals such as Glastonbury and Download.

If loaned, attendees will get their money back if they return it and if purchased the cups can be used outside of the festival in Chesterfield’s cafes and takeaways to reduce single use plastic and save festival-goers money, with most businesses providing a discount if customers bring their own cup.

Plastic Free Chesterfield Community lead Greg Hewitt said: "The crowdfunding success is incredible and follows on really well from the Plastic Free Community accreditation we were awarded last week.

"The Chesterfield business community has proved this with their sponsorship of the cups.

"We would like to say a huge thank you to all of the businesses (as well as individuals) who, despite Covid uncertainly impacting their business, have believed in the project and donated.

"The cup design is stunning, and if successful at the festival, we would like to discuss the roll out for more cups to be purchased across the borough."

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