THE sun shone as Chepstow celebrated a double occasion on Sunday 10th June - the official launch of Chepstow as the first Plastic Free town in South Wales to be recognised by the organisation Surfers Against Sewage, and the first plastic free market in Wales.

Mayor of Chepstow, Councillor Tony Redhead congratulated the group on the progress that had been made and reinforced the Council’s commitment, which included removing single use plastic, where practical, from all council premises and council-supported activities. He then talked about the way forward, which included working with other towns in the area to support Monmouthshire becoming one of the UK’s first plastic free counties, and taking action to eliminate plastic litter from Chepstow’s streets and countryside.

The mayor then formally unveiled a banner over Chepstow’s archway.

More than 30 stalls selling locally produced food, drink and craft products lined the High Street as shoppers browsed to music from Cre8tve Kids and The Brothers Blue. All the stallholders at the market, which is organised by Cotyledon, had agreed to remove or replace at least three items of single use plastic, except where required by environmental health regulations.

Tim Melville, coordinator for Transition Chepstow which has backed Plastic Free Chepstow, said: “I talked to all the stallholders and most of them were really pleased to be plastic free. They felt it was good for business and some even said it had saved them money”.

Plastic Free Chepstow would like to see the number of plastic-free businesses in town rise to 30 by the end of the year. If you would like to become one of these, contact [email protected]