Bridport has always been an environmentally conscious town, with deep grounded roots in agriculture and being surrounded by rolling countryside and idyllic coastline it’s hard not to be!
After 2017’s Blue Planet 2 the world woke up to the effect of human pollution on the environment, and it was shocking! From Islands of plastic in our oceans to animals suffering from the smallest bit of waste, all caused by our own carelessness. It was time to wake up. We strongly believe in creating and maintaining a green community centred around respect for the environment but we need your help.
A million plastic bottles are being thrown away per minute in the UK, only 1 in 400 coffee cups get recycled and single use plastic bags take up to 500 years to degrade. These stats are scary but there are small changes you can make to help change them.
As a visitor to Bridport we ask that you join us in the Green Fight! Below are a few tips for your visit.
BRING YOUR OWN BOTTLE!
Investing in, and using, a reusable water bottle instead of buying a bottled drink when you are out and about, immediately reduces your carbon footprint. A single plastic bottle can take from 450 – 1000 years to decompose!
SAY NO TO SINGLE USE CUPS!
Like the bottle, having a reusable cup to hand is not only convenient and Eco-friendly, but they are specifically designed to keep your drink fresh, much more effectively than their disposable counterparts!
REFUSE PLASTIC BAGS
Bring your own bag. The single use plastic bag is one of the biggest dangers to the planet coming off the high street. Ditch the plastic and grab yourself a reusable alternative.
MINIMISE CARBON EMISSIONS FROM TRAVEL
We all have to get about, but how we do it can have a big impact on the environment. Could you walk or cycle instead of drive? Could you take Public Transport? Could you car share?
DON’T FEED THE WILDLIFE
It is important, especially in rural areas to abide by this. As a seaside town we have a booming Seagull population. Please DO NOT feed them. They are wild animals and feeding them from your plate is not only bad for their health but also encourages their bad, sometimes violent behaviour. Avoid dropping food and ensure all food and packaging is disposed of correctly.
SHOP LOCAL
We have a wonderful high street full of unique shops just waiting to be explored, including locally and ethically sourced food shops, with the aim of reducing food miles and waste.
ABIDE BY THE COUNTRYSIDE CODE
We encourage our visitors to explore the beautiful scenery surrounding us. From the rolling hills, right down to the dramatic coastline, there’s a lot to see! One of the things that we do ask in order to maintain this landscape is that
visitors abide by the countryside code. This helps not only those who maintain the land or those visiting but the land itself.
Click here to view the code, with external links for more information.
LEAVE ONLY FOOT PRINTS
Wherever you go, leave only footprints. Everything that went with you, should return with you. Please leave a place how you found it.
Activism
We were one of the first Transition Towns in the UK and have made big moves towards making our community as green as possible. Every year our Transition town group organise “Bridport Green Fortnight”, 2 weeks of environmentally conscious talks/ films and activities to raise awareness and encourage people to do their bit in saving the planet.
They have also championed the Shop Local campaign. Our High street is full of wonderful and unique shops full of one off and ethically sourced goods. Anything from gifts and furnishings to food and drink, we’ve got everything! Our twice weekly market is a hive for one of a kind purchases, locally produced and homemade fare, antiques and much much more. Our High Street and Market strive for a low carbon footprint and try to minimise waste being produced by their businesses, but they need the support of the public in order to keep going.
The Youth Strikes for Climate made their way to us as well, with the young of the town gathering in the square to protest the ill treatment of the planet and raise awareness for change, to preserve their future.
An Eco Friendly High Street
Bridport was the first town in Dorset to gain a dedicated waste free shop, Waste Not Want Not opened in early 2018 and has been a welcome addition to our High Street. In the same year we had another waste free first in The Green Weigh, a zero waste shop on wheels, bringing ethical shopping to the out lying villages, and markets.
Although we were no stranger to the greener way of shopping before the new shops arrived, the town is full of shops, green grocers, butchers & market traders that have been trading ethically & locally sourced produce with minimal packaging for many years. It’s in the blood here!
Lyme Bay Fisheries & Conservation Reserve
Oh we do love to be beside the seaside! But what we love more is conserving it for future generations!
The Ocean is groaning with the weight of years of misuse and pollution, and now is the time to make a change.
Lyme Bay has long been a hub for fisherman, goods logistics and more recently tourism. All of these can cause lasting damage to the marine environment without proper management. Our ever growing waste free and environmentally friendly way of life will of course help to heal the wounds and reclaim what was once there, but seafaring industries need to get involved in order to bring the real change.
The Lyme Bay Fisheries and Conservation Reserve is a Marine Reserve in Lyme Bay which aims to forge links between fisherman, conservationists and scientists to maintain a healthy, productive and sustainable reserve in the bay. They want to protect the biodiversity of the bay, manage fish & shellfish stocks and create benefits for the coastal communities in the area.
For more information and advice on responsible tourism pop into Bridport Tourist Information Centre.
Click here for the Go Green with the TIC page.