Plastic Free Helensburgh

We are a group of volunteers taking action to make Helensburgh a better place to live and work and achieve SAS Plastic Free Communities Status.

[Helensburgh Advertiser @helensburghadv]

Waterfront supermarket opponents appeal for funds in legal fight against council https://t.co/kTJFeY6bBi

[Helensburgh Advertiser @helensburghadv]

Top volunteers honoured for making community better with their time and energy https://t.co/YAFABIjmsV

[Helensburgh Advertiser @helensburghadv]

Volunteers clear back overgrowth at popular Helensburgh reservoir https://t.co/eL8921RG7d

[Laura Anderson (Young) @LessWasteLaura]

The UK is not ready for climate change.
Heatwaves, floods, coastal erosion — the impacts are growing, and today's @theCCCuk report makes that crystal clear.

I've been on with @rosiewright99 @timesradio, @rachelburden @bbc5live, @BBCScotland, and @ronadougallnews @WeAreSTV 🎥📻

[Luss Primary School @lussprimary]

What happens to life below water if we pollute our rivers and lochs ? Today we have combined our Maths with Science as we set out to investigate. @GlobalGoalsUN

[Zero Waste Scotland @ZeroWasteScot]

While some of these cups may be recycled, a lot of them are binned or even littered. The best way to tackle this problem is by reducing our usage of them.

Do your bit for Scotland's environment by switching to a reusable cup and #DitchingTheDisposables.

[Laura Anderson (Young) @LessWasteLaura]

Buzzing to make my #Scotcast debut, chatting about litter!🗑️♻️

From overflowing bins to roadside rubbish, we’re trying to tackling Scotland’s litter. I joined @mmgeissler alongside Heather McLaughlin from @KSBScotland and the BBC’s @KKeaneBBC

🎧Listen: https://t.co/Mwek9cPZuY

[Plastic Free Helensburgh @PFHelensburgh]

Vision For Helensburgh – Community Drop In Event
Wednesday 26th February 2025
Helensburgh and Lomond Civic Centre - HLCC Events 38 East Clyde Street.
11am-3:30pm
5:30-7:30pm
Helensburgh area residents of all ages are invited to have a say in the town’s future development.

[Laura Anderson (Young) @LessWasteLaura]

🚗 New report from @AuditScotland today outlines the minimal progress on reducing car use in Scotland.🚆The story was bumped off @BBCRadioScot this afternoon, but since I was prepped and ready to go, here are some thoughts from me...

The report highlights that Scotland is making minimal progress on reducing car use, despite @scotgov target of a 20% reduction in car kilometres by 2030.

If we’re serious about achieving this, we need to take bolder action. Here are some key steps that I think could actually move the needle:

✅ Economic assessment of free public transport – we already have free education (up to university), free prescriptions, and free healthcare. Why not free public transport? How much would it actually cost, and what benefits could it bring? Under-22s and over-60s already enjoy free bus travel - imagine the impact of extending this!

✅ Integrated ticketing across all transport modes – the technology exists! Scotland provided COP26 attendees with tap-in/tap-out cards back in 2021. Why isn’t this system available to the public yet? Going to London is a breeze when I know I can just tap in and out with my debit card across the buses, trains and tube.

✅ Better bus-train integration – timetables and routes must be coordinated, especially for rural areas where buses should connect with train services at the right times.

✅ Extend the peak fare removal – instead of short-term experiments, let’s give these initiatives time to prove their impact.

✅ Community-led route consultations – groups like @castrathaven designed their own bus service, saving over 100,000 trips into Glasgow city centre since 2022. Imagine the potential if we expanded this model and actually provided strategically placed new routes which could significantly reduce car miles.

✅ Park-and-ride services in strategic locations – how is it that @DundeeCouncil (Scotland’s 4th largest city) has NO park-and-ride for its train station? As a result, many drive to Perth or Aberdeen instead, or choke up the Tay Bridge heading to the park-and-ride at Leuchars. We need well-placed parking services to reduce congestion and encourage rail use.

✅ Upgrades to infrastructure - I love going up north, and regularly visit Mallaig. However, when it takes 5h15m on the train, versus 3h30m in the car, and costs £73.70 for one person to get a return train ticket versus £47.18 in fuel (@TheRAC_UK calculator), driving is a no brainer. We need to upgrade tracks and trains to get travel time comparable to driving, and really reassess the cost of eye wateringly expensive tickets.

✅ Smart planning (like 20 min neighbourhoods) to bring more essential services (GPs, schools, shops etc) closer to people. We need to stop building housing estate with nothing except roads and driveways.

Scotland has set ambitious targets, but without real action, they remain just that...targets. What do you think? What would make you ditch the car and switch to public transport? Let’s discuss! 👇

https://t.co/RX1svl6WJm.

#SustainableTransport #PublicTransport #Scotland #ClimateAction #NetZero

[Plastic Free Helensburgh @PFHelensburgh]

@HermitageAcadHT I never thought I'd actually see this happen. Full marks for persistence. Wishing you every success now it is open.

[Ed Hawkins @ed_hawkins]

We are likely to regret not acting sooner.

https://t.co/KCR8y3eUoe

[Argyll and Bute Council @argyllandbute]

Would you like to take on the lease of a café/restaurant in the stunning Passivhaus-designed Pavilion within Hermitage Park, Helensburgh?

Offers should be submitted by email to [email protected] no later than 12 noon on 21 February 2025.

[Plastic Free Helensburgh @PFHelensburgh]

How to make your home or public building more energy efficient. Lots of information to help you make an informed decision on how to make your home run on green energy. Saturday 18th January at The Bridge Halls, Helensburgh Parish Church.

[Climate Centre @ClimateCentreUK]

Each New Year, we pick the most influential climate and environment figures of the year.
⭐️ Here’s the first of our five for 2025.

Laura Young, also known as Less Waste Laura, has led the campaign to ban disposable vapes since noticing the rapid spread of vape litter while walking her dog in Glasgow in 2022.

Her influence prompted 28 out of 32 Scottish councils to join her call to action for the Scottish Government to #BanDisposableVapes.

Today more than 13 vapes - each bristling with toxic chemicals - are thrown away each second in the UK. Over eight million a week!

In October 2024, as a direct result of Laura’s campaigning efforts, it was announced that single use disposable vapes will now be banned in England and Wales from June next year.

Laura has meantime also grabbed herself a First Class Honours from Dundee University and is completing her PhD climate resilience work.

She is our first influencer of the year.

@LessWasteLaura | @dundeeuni | @AbertayUni | @mcsuk

[Argyll and Bute Council @argyllandbute]

Sadly, not everyone in our schools’ recycling competition was able to win a prize, but all our entries were brilliant. Here are a few from Luss Primary school – sorry we couldn’t feature you all. https://t.co/9yXaxkAf8X

[Argyll and Bute Council @argyllandbute]

Here are some great tips from Macie, from St Joseph's Primary, on how to make recycling fun and make the most of your Christmas leftovers. Macie was a runner-in the P4-P7 category of the schools’ recycling competition.
More tips: https://t.co/WuvYA8dv9D