Turn Lyme Green promotes sustainable living in Lyme Regis. Set up in 2007, we engage the community in environmental issues. We meet regularly, plan campaigns and events, and have fun. Collaboration with other environmental groups in west Dorset and beyond is an important part of keeping everyone informed and up to date. TLG acts local, thinks global.
LATEST CAMPAIGN NEWS: PLASTIC FREE LYME REGIS
SUCCESS! In June Lyme Regis gained title, Plastic Free Lyme Regis, from the Plastic Free Communities initiative of Surfers Against Sewage. Lyme Regis is the first town in Dorset – and 24th in the country out of over 300 applying – to receive this accolade. Local businesses, organisations and residents are all taking steps to reduce single-use plastics. For more information, go to our Plastics Pollution page
NEXT MEETING (please note there is no meeting in August)
Tuesday, 4th September
PLASTIC FREE LYME REGIS: an update and a look to the future
Blue Room, Royal Lion Hotel, Broad Street, Lyme Regis
6.45 for 700pm
Grenville Barr, Chair of the Plastic Free Lyme Regis Steering Group, will give a round up of activities and lead a discussion about future plans. All invited and welcome.
Friday 10 August – CARNIVAL WEEK
During Carnival Week, Plastic Free Lyme Regis will be spreading the message – REDUCE, REUSE, REFILL, RECYCLE – along with Litter Free Coast and Sea on the seafront at the Shelters.
Recent events and activities
Saturday 9 June – Friday 15 June
Plastic Ocean – an art exhibition
The exhibition was a great success – with over 200 visitors. Those attending the opening was captivated by the talk from Anne Baker, co-leader of the sailing eXXpedition Round Britain 2017, describing her experiences of sampling the oceans for plastic pollution with her team of scientists. Our thanks to Eva Fahle-Clouts for staging this thought provoking exhibition and to the Town Council for their sponsorship.
GOING GREEN IS Definitely GOOD FOR BUSINESS….
This was the message given at a packed meeting at the Baptist Church’s Driftwood Café a few weeks ago. It was so inspiring to hear first hand from business owners who have chosen not to use single use plastics and all about their efforts to promote recycling and energy saving, efforts rewarded by support from their customers. We received good press coverage from Lyme Online and in the Bridport News.
AND THE TOWN COUNCIL AGREES …..
The Town Council has endorsed the campaign for Lyme Regis to become a Plastic Free Town. Lyme Regis is on the way to joining over 120 other communities around the country pledging to tackle plastic pollution.
A Steering Group is being set up and an ‘army’ of supporters mobilised to help get the message out to our businesses, schools, local organisations and churches so that we can work together to publicise the ways our community can benefit and contribute at home, at work and on the seafront. There will be a number of local events which Plastic Free Lyme Regis will support and get involved in during the spring and summer.. from the May Fete, Anning Road to the Carnival Procession to an art installation in the Shelters in June.
Keian McNamara, owner of the Galley Cafe in Lyme Regis, with his recyclable and compostable containers.
https://turnlymegreen.co.uk/news/plastic-bag-campaign/
FREGGIES ARE A HIT!
The Freggie bags were popular at their first outing at the opening of Bridport’s Green Fortnight last weekend. The bags are designed and made by Liz Davis with her team. Shoppers picking out their fruit and vegetables can say to ‘no’ to the plastic bags in supermarkets and use these plastic-free alternatives. The bags are made of organic cotton muslin and are strong, reusable and washable.
If you would like to buy any, please email enquiries@turnlymegreen.co.uk.
Introductory Offer: £10 for a bundle of 8 bags, including a carrier to hook over a trolley handle. Individual bags priced separately. You can also request the free instruction sheet to make your own.
RE-FILL SCHEME update
More Lyme Regis businesses are joining the Re-Fill scheme which has received so much national publicity recently. “Refill is a free tap water initiative designed to reduce plastic pollution and promote healthy hydration by making refilling a water bottle easy, social and rewarding! Hats off to the 20 businesses taking part in Lyme Regis .. as others join we will let you know. If anyone wishes to join, just contact Litter Free Coast and Sea who co-ordinate locations in Dorset. There is also an app which can show ReFill locations near where you are.
Penny Black Café Cornish Bakery
Aroma Coffee House Galley Café
The Good Food Store Roly’s Fudge Pantry
Mulberry Manor Bell Cliff Restaurant
Frank & Beans Gelateria Tierra Kitchen
Alexandra Hotel Red Panda
Old Bonded Store Tearoom The Nags Head
Lyme’s Fish Bar Costa
Courtyard Cafe Baboo Gelato
SWiM Hook Farm and Caravan Park
Lyme Regis Brewery
NEW – RECYLING CONTAINER AT HOLMBUSH CARPARK for coffee cups and beverage cartons
And for other beverage cartons widely used to package milk, fruit juice and an increasingly wide range of food products, including soup, chopped tomatoes and pulses.
Dorset Waste Partnership has placed a new container in Holmbush Carpark, alongside one for textiles and one for aluminium foil. Curb side recycling is not available at the moment for coffee cups or food and drink cartons but by taking them to Holmbush, we can do our bit for recycling and make a dent in the huge number of paper coffee cups with plastic lining that need to be recycled separately from paper collections .
Take away coffee cups can also be taken to Costa where they are stored and taken regularly to Costa’s own recycling centre for cups. You can take in cups from other cafes/shops are well as any purchased from Costa.
Helping Lyme Regis become Plastic Bag Free – a short film
With the welcome renewal of publicity to deal with plastic pollution, we thought you would like to be reminded that, 10 years ago, Biggerhouse Film and Video Production worked with the children at St Michael’s Primary School to make this award winning animated film. How true it is today – 10 years later.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iI1IokqmDi0
Bottle Deposit Scheme
You may also be interested in the campaign of Surfers Against Sewage (SAS). If you haven’t signed their petition to bring back bottle deposits, then follow the link below in their message. The scheme works in Germany. Why not here? As they say, “plastic pollution is the ‘new sewage’.
Dear Friends,
Whilst we welcome the Prime Minister’s pledge to deliver plastic free coastlines, 25 years is not a fast enough time frame to tackle the immediate plastic pollution crisis or stop the torrent of plastics choking our oceans. At current rates, over the next 25 years we estimate a further 300 million tonnes of plastic pollution will enter the oceans.
The government must now act swiftly to introduce even more ambitious legislation to drive manufacturers away from their love affair with single-use plastics, starting with a UK-wide deposit return system.
A UK-wide deposit refund system is within reach and a proven way to reduce society’s plastic footprint that is trampling our beaches.
For a full update please see: https://www.sas.org.uk/news/sas-urges-faster-action-plastic-pollution/
Thanks for your support,
Team SAS
Surfers Against Sewage
Transition Town, Bridport
http://www.transitiontownbridport.co.uk/Content/whats_on.asp
Sustainable Dorset Newsletter
You can read Sustainable Dorset’s newsletter by clicking this link.
Baptist Church achieves Silver Eco Church award
Many of you will remember the inspiring talk Izzy Woodman gave last year and will want to congratulate her and the congregation for their Silver award.
The Lyme Regis Gateway Card
The Gateway Card is a local discount scheme available to Lyme Regis residents. It provides residents with discounts, concessions and special offers from local businesses. The scheme helps to support the local economy, and provides benefits to local residents who support the town all-year-round.
Details at: http://www.lymeregistowncouncil.gov.uk/our-town/gateway-card
RECENT MEETINGS
THE GREAT NURDLE HUNT – Charmouth beach, Saturday 17th February
Organised by the Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre, the Great Nurdle Hunt met to pick up nurdles and see Attenborough’s Sea Dragon now on display.
Nurdles are tiny plastic pellets used to make most of our plastic products. It is estimated that 53 billion nurdles escape into the UK environment each year! Due to their tiny size, nurdles are eaten by marine wildlife so move up the food chain and also act as sponges in the sea, attracting pollutants.
What can you do to help? Pick up nurdles! The more we collect, the fewer end up in the sea. Always make sure you wear gloves when handling nurdles as they contain toxins. Nurdles have been spotted on Lyme’s Church Beach. Head that way and take a bag and some gloves to help get rid of them.
Litter Free Coast & Sea
Charlotte Wild, from Litter Free Coast & Sea, gave a presentation on the various campaigns led by this group, including beach cleans in Dorset and Re-Fill Dorset, the re-filling water bottle scheme which a number of Lyme Regis businesses have signed up to. Check the website to learn more about how we all can help.
http://www.litterfreecoastandsea.co.uk/
Update on the Hawkchurch Gas Plant
Join Anti-Fracking Lyme Regis
Over 100 people joined Frack Free Lyme Regis on 31 January to show the strength of feeling against fracking and to support the demonstrations being held nationwide on that day. After processing along the sea front, everyone gathered at The Pilot Boat to listen to a number of speakers and collect lots of information. You can read more about Frack Free Lyme Regis and general information by visiting the Facebook page. To learn about future plans and meetings, please contact Tracey and Simon West on 07817 156391. All offers of help and support are very welcome.
Eco Open Homes in Lyme Regis and Uplyme
This popular event took place on 11th September. Two local homes were open. This was part of Open Eco Homes weekend, including Bridport and surrounding areas, featuring a variety homes were open – some off grid, some new builds, one straw bale extension, a few retrofits, and a lot of enthusiasm among the hosts. Low carbon lifestyles are as important as the buildings.
This event was a collaboration between Turn Lyme Green, Transition Town Bridport, Communities Living Sustainably in Dorset, and Dorset Architectural Heritage Week.
Coastal Path
Terry Sweeney writes….. “Whilst our slipping cliffs are great for producing fossils, they haven’t been good news for our coast path in west Dorset. Several sections between Lyme Regis and Seaton in particular have collapsed and been diverted way inland for years.
But Natural England have just used recent legislation to plan new paths around these breaks, and are asking us for our views. The proposals run to many pages and maps, and can be read online or in libraries and Town Halls. So anyone who loves walking our coast, or has a business which attracts visitors who like to walk, should write to them welcoming these new paths.
Even if you can’t read the detail, do write to Natural England and let them know you look forward to having a Coast Path back, and this time forever. Write now! End of August deadline!”
The address is …Natural England , Coastal Access Delivery Team, Temple Quay House, 2, The Square, Bristol BS1 6DG.
Restoring Gardens at Belmont House
Groundwork South is continuing its work to bring the secret garden at Belmont house, Lyme Regis back to life and to its former glory, work which will continue until next March 2016. They are looking for more volunteers to work with their trained horticulturalist, Helen Staveley, who has joined the team.
They write….“We also want you to help us plan and develop the space into a green haven. We are looking to set up a ‘friends of’ group, who can take ownership of managing the site and putting it to use as a community asset. If you are interested in being involved, please contact helen.staveley@groundwork.org.uk / 07943210092”
Community Energy Projects
‘A sub-group has been formed to research a community energy project for Lyme Regis. A very informative visit was made to Wedmore in Somerset and a report will follow. (…Read More)
Plastic Bag Campaign Continues
The Turn Lyme Green Group Campaigning against the use of plastic bags outside the supportive local Co-op store. Photo Credit: Peter Wiles
A team of TLG supporters has put new energy into the campaign. They have met with the Lyme Traders Organisation and visited all shops in the town to find out what kinds of bags they are giving to customers.
Visit our plastic bag page for more information.
To see our award-winning animation film, shown recently at the climate change conference in Copenhagen, click here.
