Rachael Maskell, MP for York Central is pledging to give up single use plastics for Lent, she will be taking on the challenge along with some fellow Labour Councillors, and prospective Labour Candidates, including Sandi Redpath (pictured) to raise awareness around the amount of plastic we use everyday, without even realising.

Around 300 million tonnes of plastic is produced every year and around 10 million tonnes ends up in our oceans. Less than a quarter of all plastic produced is recycled and as it can take up to 1000 to decompose in landfill sites, this has a deep impact on our environment.

Ms Maskell says:
“As Lent is a time for reflection, I wanted to take a step back and look at the wider picture of the world we live in. The greatest threat to our planet is mankind. Having recently spoken to Sir David Attenborough about our environment, and when I saw school children were taking time off their studies to campaign about climate change, you realise that something drastic needs to change.

”Having looked around the supermarkets where almost every product has plastic packaging, I will be buying local from places including the Shambles Market, and ‘The Bishy Weigh’ which is plastic free, so not only will I be helping the environment but supporting the local economy too.”