8th December 2021

Hi Keith,

I notice that there's no mention of plastic or Plastic Free Swindon in the borough council's Be The Change campaign and its links. CIEL's Plastic and Climate report shows that plastic is a significant and growing factor in climate change. The Plastic Free Swindon campaign includes a wealth of information and activities to reduce plastic pollution, part of Friends of the Earth and Break Free From Plastic. So any chance of updating the Be The Change campaign to include this important information and point to our campaign?

Kind regards,

Ben Bell,
Plastic Free Swindon co-ordinator

6th January 2022

Hi Keith,

Did you see this email? Please respond.

Ben Bell,
Plastic Free Swindon co-ordinator

11th January 2022

Hi Ben,

I would not be willing to link people to your site as part of Be The Change campaign currently.

Much of what your site promotes is good, however I think there is a line you cross with some of your wording that the Borough could not associate itself with.

I will be able to share some information with you later this week about the new waste contract and also information on plastic recycling though.

Regards,

Keith
(Keith Williams, borough councillor for climate change)

11th January 2022

Hi Keith,

Please be more specific re the wording on the website which you think crosses the line.

We are committed to providing accurate information for the public and have been frank about the borough council because of serious concerns raised through our work and pertaining issues. Where other local organisations have happily worked together with us, the borough council have not made any effort to connect with us and have ignored the important messages that we've communicated re plastic pollution. The importance of reducing plastic production is missing from your communications / website despite the case being clearly made. You continue to knowingly disinform the public about the SRF plant. We even found out that, at the Oasis, the borough council had purposely not picked up rubbish from the site. So it seems that you may actually be working against us. You ignored our invites to join in Keep Swindon Tidy Day and we are again chasing you up after over a month of emails being ignored. You have shown no regard for our campaign, no interest in getting involved to reduce plastic pollution. Given these factors and more, we make no apologies for scrutiny or publicising such misrepresentation. You don't seem to be serving the public's best interests.

I'll wait for your email later this week re the new waste contract and plastic recycling.

Thanks,

Ben Bell,
Plastic Free Swindon co-ordinator

23rd January 2022

Mr Williams,

We're still waiting for you to respond about us supposedly crossing the line with the use of wording on our website. Are you going to do so, so that we can investigate your claim?

You and the borough council are deceiving the Swindon public. You are aware of the direct and indirect contributions of plastic to climate change. We sent you that information. Yet you make no mention of it in your Be The Change campaign. This incorrect messaging enables continued plastic production / pollution in various ways.

We have heard nothing from you re the new waste contract and plastic recycling.

Sincerely,

Ben Bell,
Plastic Free Swindon co-ordinator

23rd January 2022

Hi Ben,

I’ve thought it through, but I don’t want to get into another extended exchange with you about why some of your content isn’t in line with what the Borough can link to. If you can’t understand why then I don’t feel it is for me to have to point it out as you almost certainly will disagree anyway.

Complete elimination of plastic is not something the Borough can achieve, neither is its production one of the major contributors to climate change. With the resources we have we need to focus on the areas we can influence the most.

The Comms around the new waste contract are being prepared still. I had expected them to be shareable by now, but will let you know as soon as something can be released.

Keith
(Keith Williams, borough councillor for climate change)

24th January 2022

Mr Williams,

You claim we have crossed the line but provide no evidence. No, we can't understand or address the situation unless a reason is given. I'd thank you not to be rude and presume how I will respond.

We have not asked you to completely eliminate plastic. We have asked whether you will communicate the significant and growing contribution of plastic pollution (directly and indirectly throughout its life, not just production) in your Be The Change campaign. By omitting this information, you misconstrue the situation. You claim that there is nothing that you can do, that you need to focus because of limited resources. You can accurately present that information. Will you do so?

Thank you for clarification on the new waste contract. We'll wait for you to come back to us on it.

Ben Bell,
Plastic Free Swindon co-ordinator

This new contract with Viridor will mean that Swindon's waste will no longer be dried and transported to Eastern Europe to be burnt in cement kilns. It will instead be burnt more locally. This is not solving environmental and health issues, it is moving them around. Waste-to-energy is another term for waste incineration. It could be said that the term is greenwashing because it attempts to imply that such energy generation is positive. According to UKWIN, "incineration releases significantly more CO2 for every kWh exported to the electricity grid than the conventional use of fossil fuels, with the incineration of plastics being worse than coal". Waste incineration lowers recycling rates, is a barrier to zero waste, pollutes the environment with noxious substances, uses energy and resources, and contributes to climate change. We wrote to Swindon Borough Council several times asking that these points are made clear in their communications, including their Be The Change campaign. They declined our requests.

From the sourcing of raw materials to its eventual waste in the environment, plastic pollutes, and uses energy and resources. The solution to plastic pollution is not to continue facilitating plastic use through such means as plastic recycling and waste incineration, it is to reduce plastic production. We are still waiting for strong legislation to do that, as the Environment Act 2021 is inadequate.

The privatisation of waste services has caused many problems such as illegal dumping, recyclable materials not being recycled, and increased costs for the public to feed corporate profits. Profit continues to come before the well-being of life on Earth. Accordingly there is a strong case for waste services to be made public.

9th February 2022

Mr Williams,

Another two weeks go by and the question remains unanswered: Will the borough council update its communications, including the Be The Change campaign, to accurately present the contribution of plastic to climate change, loss of biodiversity, disease? These crises, as you should be aware, are inextricably linked.

I've further considered your explanation about not linking to our campaign. It doesn't make sense. You start by saying that you "don’t want to get into another extended exchange with you about why some of your content isn’t in line with what the Borough can link to". We have not been in such an exchange about that subject. We have had long exchanges on waste incineration, climate change, and the connection between the Conservative Party / government and the oil / plastics industry. You also stated, "If you can’t understand why then I don’t feel it is for me to have to point it out...". How am I supposed to understand without an explanation? So will you substantiate the currently baseless assertion that you made about our campaign? I am wondering whether your decision is politically expedient because our campaign includes information about the political situation that continues to enable and further plastic pollution, and the borough council's part in that.

We heard nothing back from you about the new waste incineration contract. I read about it in the Swindon Advertiser and was asked to respond to it. This contract does nothing to deal with plastic pollution. The borough council have chosen to enter into a contract with Viridor, a company that claims that plastic waste is valuable and can be managed. That is nonsense. It seems that you and the borough council have ignored the information that we sent you regarding plastic pollution, climate change, and waste incineration.

Ben Bell,
Plastic Free Swindon co-ordinator

9th February 2022

Hi Ben,

I’m sorry but we won’t be updating the communications at this stage, or linking to your site.

You are correct in that the new contract will not fundamentally alter the way plastic is processed. The current recycling process will remain in place and is not part of the new contract, with plastic that can be recycled being pelletised in the U.K. for use in the U.K. or Europe (The Netherlands from memory). The new contract is still a Private and Confidential item as not all details have been agreed yet, so I’m not at liberty to say more, despite some of the leaks that have taken place.

Regards,

Keith
(Keith Williams, borough councillor for climate change)

9th February 2022

Thank you for clarifying that you will not provide any substantiation to your claim about our campaign, and that you will continue to disinform the public about plastic's significant and growing contribution to climate change.

Ben Bell,
Plastic Free Swindon co-ordinator