Coffinswell Parish Council Climate Emergency

In declaring a climate emergency, CPC will endeavour to reduce its own impact on the environment and facilitate and encourage the community to collectively reduce emissions and the Parish's overall impact on the environment by facilitating and promoting sustainable alternatives.

Council

The Council will reduce its paper use by:

– not printing multiple agendas or minutes for councillors, councillors will be expected to have read soft formats prior to meetings and to have made notes accordingly.

– A single copy will be available for councillor use

– five copies only will be printed for public distribution

– all waste will be recycled

– the Council will source unbleached paper made from recycled material

– the Council will move towards using vegetable-based inks for printing

The Council will reduce the impact of its electronic assets:

– the Council consider ecological concerns when sourcing new electronic assets such as laptops and printers

– all electronic waste will be recycled in line with WEEE regulations

The Council will move towards a zero-emission footpath maintenance programme

– the Council will immediately move to using pre-mixed alkylate petrol in machinery to reduce harmful emission and to reduce waste petrol and unnecessary degradation of machines

– the Council will not repair any fossil fuel powered machine over five years old and will look to replace instead

– the Council will replace any machinery with battery powered machines

– the Council will manage footpaths with nature in mind including alternating grass cutting and adopting a reactive approach to cutting back side growth in partnership with landowners

The Council will not use single use plastic or non-recyclable materials at any event it hosts.

The Council will encourage councillors to lift share to meetings and walk or cycle where practical.

The Council will consider and include climate in all of its comments regarding planning applications received from TDC.

Community

The Council will engage with the community and facilitate the establishment of a Green Coffinswell Group.

The aim of the group will be to:

– provide information on local food producers,

– encourage lift sharing,

– disseminate and coordinate recycling of materials that the district do not collect from home

– promote walking and cycling routes to key local amenities and for leisure

– share skills within the community to reduce waste and repair where possible

– use skills and knowledge to encourage ecological land management such as tree selection and reducing the risk of spreading plant disease

– the Council’s new website is a valuable resource that could be used for this purpose