Cotswold District Council teams up with local Co-op

Cotswold District Council has joined forces with the Bourton-on-the-Water Midcounties Co-operative store to raise awareness about how to reduce, reuse and recycle many of the products available to shoppers.

Cllr Sue Coakley, CDC’s Cabinet Member for the Environment and Chair of the Gloucestershire Joint Waste Board, visited the store and met with Matt Windridge, Head of Supermarket Operations, and Adam Quinton, Leadership Team Community Ambassador, at The Midcounties Co-operative in the Cotswolds to review ways to increase recycling.  They also discussed how the store can promote this information to best effect - and possibly take further steps to avoid unnecessary packaging.

Commenting on her visit, Cllr Coakley said: “I have been very impressed by the proactive attitude shown by The Midcounties Co-operative and many of the customers regarding recycling, reuse and reduction of waste – in fact the reason I made this visit today was because a local resident was very keen to get us together to explore further improvements. 

“I know that The Midcounties Co-operative already has good environmental credentials, and it is encouraging that they want to do even more, most notably in reducing single use plastics and other unnecessary packaging by switching to more paper bags and recyclable, biodegradable or compostable containers.   

“There are many household items for sale that can be recycled either via our weekly kerbside collection service or by visiting local Household Recycling Centres, and we will be working with The Midcounties Co-operative to ensure that this information is clearly displayed to customers in the store and that they are aware of the relevant details on our website.

“We agreed that while introducing more eco-friendly retail and packaging practices is a great step forward, changes in consumer behaviour are an equally important consideration in making a difference – for example, if shoppers were to bring in their own container and Tupperware for fresh products like fish. The Council – and the Gloucestershire Joint Waste Team - is eager to encourage this sort of change in shopping habits and we are always willing to promote more environmentally-friendly alternatives.

Adam Quinton, a Leadership Team Community Ambassador at The Midcounties Co-operative in the Cotswolds, said: “We’re committed to reducing waste across each of our trading groups and are always looking for ways to improve sustainability. Last week we hosted an open discussion about reducing plastic at our Bourton-on-the Water store. We’re looking forward to partnering with Cotswold Council to help make a real difference in the local community.”

Earlier in the year the Bourton-on-the-Water store was voted by grocery research organisation IGD as one of the top 14 in Europe for its eco-friendly design and approach to the sourcing of local produce.

ENDS