The summer months have continued to be a busy time for the members of Market Drayton Climate Action. They have conducted a survey into local requirements in relation to buses, made inroads into reducing the environmental impact of modern day consumerism, which results in high volumes of greenhouse gas emission, and staged displays at a number of public events including at Fordhall Farm about ways in which to reduce our carbon footprint.
The transport survey began in July with local residents being consulted on their support for the introduction of a direct service to Whitchurch, with its railway station, access to a wider network of buses, minor injuries unit, shops and other facilities. Alongside this Climate Action also sought information on the extent to which people were using the town’s buses, and their experiences when doing so, and the bus routes they would like to see in operation. The lack of any link to a hospital remains an ongoing concern. Although the feedback from the survey, which closed at the end of September, is still being evaluated there has been a good response, with many residents in favour of much needed improvements to the existing bussing arrangements including the establishment of the connection with Whitchurch. Increased usage of more reliable bus services in Market Drayton is a must if the present dependence on cars, with their harmful effects on the environment, is to be reduced.
Away from transport a lot of work has been carried out by Climate Action on determining ways in which the quantities of household waste can be reduced. It is estimated that durable purchases made by people account for a quarter of our carbon footprint (with expenditure on food adding a further quarter.) Alternatives to simply treating unwanted items as waste are reusing them, repurposing them and ensuring they are recycled, wherever possible.
With Plant/Produce Sharing events, press articles and a local repairs cafe under consideration for the future the Climate Action Responsible Consumption team are active on a range of fronts. These include the establishment of relationships with the Regenerative Farming community in North Shropshire, to promote their wide ranging efforts to capture carbon, restore soil health and improve biodiversity, and the organisers of Market Drayton’s 10k race where the aim is to find ways to purchase sustainable goods, leading to less waste, as well as increasing recycling opportunities. The team is also developing a map of the places residents can go to in order to take climate action in relation to purchasing and waste, or in other words ‘ rethink, reduce, reuse, repair, recycle and share.’ It can be accessed through the Market Drayton Climate Action website at www.mdclimateaction.uk.
In proposing the motion to Market Drayton Town Council which led to the declaration of a climate emergency in the local area in July Ian Nellins, Shropshire Council’s cabinet member for Waste Management and a town councillor, stressed the need for the Council to work more closely with Climate Action in the future. It is a welcome endorsement for the work being performed by Climate Action but it also further demonstrates that a response to the climate crisis cannot be a matter for a single group or individual. ++Market Drayton currently has further links with the Shropshire Good Food Partnership and Shropshire Zero Carbon.
