Chesterfield's first plastic free festival to go ahead this weekend with residents encouraged to bring reusable bags

Environmental campaign group, Plastic Free Chesterfield is bringing the new festival to New Square in the town’s marketplace on Sunday, August 8 after Chesterfield Borough Council granted them funding and permission.

The Plastic Free Festival aims to be a ‘one-stop’ shop for attendees to help them reduce their single-plastic plastics by visiting stalls run by businesses – such as Steph's Sustainable Stuff, Elsie Moss Botanical, Astra Designs UK and Smarties Fruit & Veg – selling products that encourage a plastic-free lifestyle.

Craft recycling workshops will also be provided and families and adults will get the chance to try their hand at Furoshiki, the art of Japanese gift wrap.

Activists from Plastic Free Chesterfield and Chesterfield Timebank will also be stationed in the marketplace to give advice and tips on how to reduce single-use plastics.

The groups will be joined by Transition Chesterfield, who run the Chesterfield Repair Cafe, and Angela Blair, a local TerraCycle collector who aims to help people re-purpose hard-to-recycle items.

Local food and drink businesses will be on hand to inject some flavour into the festival, with the Asian Association of Chesterfield selling wraps, samosas and bhajis, while El Cafe Verde will have waffles and cakes on hand and plant-based hot dogs and nachos will be available from The Veg Stable.

Live performances from entertainers are also on the agenda, with Yorkshire poet and entertainer Nick Toczec set to take to the stage as well as the popular Chesterfield Garland Dancers.

Budding poets will be in attendance too as the winners of the Plastic Free Poetry competition will be announced on the day.

Residents and visitors are encouraged to bring their own reusable bags and containers to the festival, while two Chesterfield-branded festival cups will also be available to loan or buy at the event.

The festival is sponsored by Chesterfield Borough Council, with over £700 of funding for the event coming from the local authority's Community Infrastructure Levy grant scheme.

Plastic Free Chesterfield lead Greg Hewitt said: "The Plastic Free Festival will be a really great opportunity to show off the fantastic work that the Chesterfield community have achieved so far to reduce their single-use plastics, celebrating our recent Plastic Free Community accreditation.

"The festival is the first of its kind in the area and aims to help the public to discover some fantastic local independent businesses, of which all are reducing their plastic footprint.

"We are delighted that not only has Chesterfield Borough Council given us funding to be able to run the event.

"It will be a great family fun day out."

Deputy leader of Chesterfield Borough Council Amanda Serjeant added: "We're proud to be funding the Plastic Free Festival, by working together with the community we can make real changes that will help improve the local environment and help us all reduce our carbon footprint.

“The festival is a fantastic opportunity for everyone to understand how they can lead a plastic-free lifestyle.

"But it is also an important celebration of the businesses and organisations that have helped our town become an accredited Plastic Free Community.”

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