{"id":28041,"date":"2018-01-21T20:23:37","date_gmt":"2018-01-21T20:23:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/intercardiff\/?p=28041"},"modified":"2018-01-21T20:23:37","modified_gmt":"2018-01-21T20:23:37","slug":"students-spearhead-anti-plastic-movement-in-cardiff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/science-environment\/students-spearhead-anti-plastic-movement-in-cardiff","title":{"rendered":"Students spearhead anti-plastic movement in Cardiff"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>With Blue Planet II bringing plastic pollution to the fore, two Cardiff University students have begun to have their own environmental impact on Cardiff and its businesses.<\/h2>\n<p>Social media is an indispensable tool when it comes to getting your voice heard. Your message may be retweeted a couple of times and eventually strike a chord with someone.\u00a0Someone possibly like Cerys Matthews, welsh singer and songwriter. That\u2019s how the early doors panned out for the No Straw Stand movement anyway.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_28182\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-28182\" style=\"width: 625px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-28182\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2018\/01\/IMG_0015-625x469.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"625\" height=\"469\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-28182\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-28182\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2018\/01\/IMG_0015-625x469.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"625\" height=\"469\" \/><\/noscript> Nia and Doug of the No Straw Stand<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Behind the movement is a double act, Nia Jones and Douglas Looms. Under no illusions of how difficult it would be to get their\u00a0movement off the ground, the endorsement from the Welsh celebrity was clearly not lost on them. \u201cI mean Twitter has been invaluable to us\u201d, Nia begins.<\/p>\n<p>Doug picks up and echoes the sentiments. &#8220;To get someone like Cerys retweeting our posts, I think it was a big confidence boost. We sent it out thinking a few people would see it, but we didn&#8217;t expect that response. She&#8217;s obviously very famous in Wales you know.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe good thing is if people go to places that are sustainable its trendy. People will post on Twitter and Instagram. People like\u00a0independent coffee shops and bars, especially in a city like Cardiff that has so many.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_28180\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-28180\" style=\"width: 625px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-28180\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2018\/01\/IMG_0028-625x469.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"625\" height=\"469\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-28180\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-28180\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2018\/01\/IMG_0028-625x469.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"625\" height=\"469\" \/><\/noscript> Penylan Pantry has taken the stand against plastic straws<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Fitting the movement around their studies, Nia and Douglas clearly understand where they want to take the No Straw Stand. They have outlined their parameters and knuckled down, drawing\u00a0upon educational studies to get this thing going. Sitting in one of the caf\u00e9\u2019s to have taken the pledge, Nia explains, \u201cI think that\u2019s the good thing about university. It encourages you to set up your own projects and think outside the box. We just thought what is something we can do that isn\u2019t too big. We are two students. We can\u2019t be like \u2018stop climate change\u2019, \u2018stop carbon\u00a0pollution\u2019, \u2018stop using cars\u2019. All those things are far too big for a movement like ours.\u201d These two have their sights much more defined &#8211; to get businesses in Cardiff to stop using single-use plastic straws.<\/p>\n<p>Long-term, the goal is clear \u2013 to make themselves obsolete. \u201cI have volunteered with different NGO\u2019s before and they\u2019ve had good messages because in the end you don\u2019t want to be needed anymore. You want to be able to walk away. I mean\u00a0Seattle has just banned plastic straws. Something like that would be the end goal,\u201d Nia explains. There is hope it has an expiry date.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_28056\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-28056\" style=\"width: 625px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-28056\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2018\/01\/39706712782_1cfb75cd86_o-1-625x352.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"625\" height=\"352\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-28056\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-28056\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2018\/01\/39706712782_1cfb75cd86_o-1-625x352.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"625\" height=\"352\" \/><\/noscript> Non-biodegradable marine litter \u00a9Bo Elde\/Flickr<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Yet getting a city of businesses to stop using single-use plastic straws is not without its challenges, surprisingly. \u201cWe\u2019ve had to navigate some situations\u00a0where people will say \u2018what about people with disabilities,\u201d Doug explains. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to really think about how you\u2019re going to reply to it because, obviously, you\u2019ve got to stick to your stand \u2018No Plastic Straws\u2019, but you\u2019ve also got to introduce alternative methods.\u201d Overcoming such challenges requires an astute understanding of attitudes towards the use of single-use plastics and the situation at large, something both display as they talk about the topic whilst sipping at a cup of coffee.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, there remains other challenges that will demand more from the No Straw Stand. Cardiff\u2019s bustling nightclub and bar scene present one. \u201cOften, bars will put a straw in drinks design purposes. We\u2019ve tried contacting a few, and others haven\u2019t got back to us. I think it\u2019s a big thing the\u00a0amount of straw\u2019s they use in a night. Maybe the plastic tax might help that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The possible introduction of a plastic tax also provides reason for positivity with the duo citing it as a momentum builder for their movement. They want the topic to be discussed and people to have a better understanding of it. They\u00a0believe its introduction could herald a new time where we think not about using plastic straws, but about opting out of using plastic straws. There is room for a new \u2018norm\u2019. Discussing their positive outlook, Nia says, \u201cAt the moment biodegradable straws aren\u2019t that much more expensive and with the plastic tax it would hopefully be a cheaper\u00a0option.\u201d Both are keen to stress that are viable alternatives to use \u2013 glass straws, metal straws, biodegradable straws.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Bb-KPIuBel8\/\">https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Bb-KPIuBel8\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Having fully immersed themselves in the message of the movement and gained an understanding of the topic, the pair reflect on the changes they have made to their day to day\u00a0life, something many would struggle with due to an entrenchment of attitudes. \u201cI do definitely choose lunch now if it has cardboard packaging instead of plastic. Or I\u2019ll go I certain places because I know it does a paper bag,\u201d Nia says. And their decision making has clearly had an influence on those around them too, from\u00a0flatmates washing and re-using plastic straws at home to friends not taking single-use plastic cup lids in Subway.<\/p>\n<p>They now find themselves as the spearhead of a campaign, but also part of a larger movement. There is a desire to connect with others that share the same message, other groups that are attempting to get\u00a0businesses to stop using single-use plastic straws. Amongst these of course are the wonderfully named \u2018Straw Wars\u2019 and \u2018No Straws Attached\u2019. Connecting different movements in the UK would make it easier to get funding for national campaigns and also give it \u2018one central thing with different local faces\u2019.\u00a0Upon considering the potential for a collective effort, Nia takes a short pause before confidently stating, \u201cYeah that would be awesome we are all working towards the same goal\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Meet Doug and Nia, the University students behind a movement to make non-reusable plastic straws obsolete in Cardiff. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":438,"featured_media":28258,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-28041","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science-environment"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.2 - 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