Water companies want bills to increase to pay for upgrades 

We're appalled, and we're right to be. Water companies have paid out over £60 billion in dividends in the last 30 years whilst our sewerage infrastructure has been left to crumble.

Instead of groveling for more billpayer money, any additional cost should first be covered by cutting dividends and executive bonuses. Water companies do have the chance to begin to put things right with their five year plan. We are going to be watching and engaging to make sure that they do. Read our End Sewage Pollution Manifesto. 

What can we do about it? Attend your local water company meeting in November ✊

Held throughout November, 'Your Water Your Say' meetings are your opportunity to question your water company. You'll hear from their CEO about upcoming plans on investment, the environment and your bills. And have the chance to feed back. It's a big opportunity for us to have our voice heard. We'll be trying to attend every one to ask those all important questions, we hope to see some of you there. 

Interested? We will be sending out the registration details soon. 

Speakers have been announced for our Pupil Power Assembly ⭐

Not sure what the Pupil Power Assembly is? Check it out here. 

We've got so many good speakers this year, including Skye Neville. At just 13 years old, Skye is a dedicated climate activist, her campaign to eliminate plastic tat from children's magazines has over 66,000 supporters, influencing Waitrose to take action, making her a prominent advocate for change.

We'll also have a session from Oluwaseyi Moejoh, a Nigerian Environmentalist and National Geographic Young Explorer, educating the next generation of young leaders about climate action and helping them build the knowledge and skills they need to proffer innovative solutions to environmental issues. 🤙

Single-use plastics ban, England and Wales - not as impressive as it sounds 

Following a ban in Scotland in 2022, it's now illegal for businesses in England to sell a limited number of single-use plastic items. Wales is expected to follow on 30th October. Good news 👍Less plastic. Bad news 👎It could've been so much more effective. The government had a real opportunity here to make a difference. Instead, they gave plastics a loophole to continue polluting. 

It sounded good at first - right? 🚨 However, the requirements mean that many goods can still be served in single-use plastics. For example, you're allowed to use drinks containers if if requires 'further preparation' (eg. adding water to a tea bag). But, it's a start. Read more on the requirements from our Plastic Free Communities team here.

One bonus - no more plastic cutlery. ❌

💩 There were 1065 SEWAGE POLLUTION ALERTS in September💩

Across the UK, monitored by our Safer Seas and Rivers Service app. 

For the ocean, 

🌊 Jade, Communications Officer