Two hundred Geography undergraduates from Queen Mary University of London will be walking the length of Roman Road to speak to businesses and shoppers about their use of single-use plastic as part of the Globe Town Steering Committee’s Plastic Free Roman Road project.
Roman Road Trust is supporting a new Plastic Free Roman Road project that is being led by the Globe Town Steering Committee. As part of our support, Roman Road Trust is working with our partners the Geography Department at Queen Mary University of London to complete a high street audit of the use of single-use plastics in Roman Road.
The audit will assess the current usage of single-use plastics as well as finding out if there is an appetite from businesses and shoppers for more environmentally friendly alternatives. The results of the audit will produce the evidence-base necessary for further funding applications to progress the project.
Single-use plastics are items such as plastic carrier bags, takeaway containers, water bottles, and takeaway coffee cups. The aim of the project is to reduce the amount of single-use plastics that are consumed in Roman Road by encouraging businesses to use alternatives (such as bio-degradable containers and reusable shopping bags.)
The audit will take place during the week commencing Monday 24th September. On Monday, QMUL students will be introduced to the project by local green champion and chair of Cranbrook Community Food Garden, Lizzy Mace as well as Joanna Milewska from Friends of Meath Gardens. Students will then be taken on walking tours of Roman Road before designing survey questions for the audit.
Around 100 students will hit the high street on Tuesday with the other 100 heading out on Thursday. Their aim will be to gather responses to the survey from businesses, shoppers, and local residents. Some students will also be conducting voxpop styled interviews with shoppers.
The week will finish with a celebration event on Friday 28th September in which students will present their findings to a panel of local business representatives and environmental community groups.
If you’re on Roman Road during the week of 24th September look out for the Queen Mary students, who will be wearing Roman Road Trust ‘Be More Common’ lanyards, and help support the project by taking a few moments to answer their questions about plastic use.
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