Business, Community Allies, Community Case Studies Posted — 5 April 2023
Plastic Free Ramadan goes nationwide
The holy month of Ramadan is underway, where Muslims across the world abstain from food and drink in contemplation and prayer. Naseem Talukdar, founder of Projects Against Plastic, wanted to reduce the use of single-use plastics during the holy month in the UK and decided to launch a pilot scheme in Bristol, called Plastic Free Ramadan.
The aim is to share with Mosque representatives how they can move towards a reduction in single-use plastics, starting with the month of Ramadan. As it’s a key time when Muslim communities eat together and a time when throwaway plastic is often used for convenience.
Projects Against Plastic are sharing what they’ve done after the pilot project in Bristol, and want to hear about what other communities have started locally. The organisation hopes that bringing together shared practice can enable a more national approach to reducing single use plastic the whole year round, and that it can work with and role model for other communities.
It’s not the first time the organisation has taken a lead. Working closely with Plastic Free Weston-super-Mare, Weston Chamber of Commerce, and UK Curry Connect, they have been running Curry and Conversation workshops to help restaurant owners cut takeaway plastic and work together to find sustainable solutions.
Naseem said: “Curry and Conversation was a workshop designed by PAP to raise an awareness on the usage of single use plastic in hospitality. It’s been extended to various other businesses & the community sector, with the help of Debbie and her Plastic Free Weston-super-Mare team. The aims of the workshops are to engage, educate, and empower individuals to lead the changes within their own organisations.’’
Debbie first realised the potential for the collaboration with Projects Against Plastics in 2019, at a business award event. She said:
“I met up with Naseem and Moslek from UK Curry Connect and we realised how well our two campaigns could complement each other. So much good has come from the workshops. From inspiring other people to start their own Plastic Free Communities, to forming links with other community groups and projects. The friendship and collaboration formed with Naseem and Moslek has been invaluable.”
We’d love to hear if you or your community has been trying to cut plastic during Ramadan. Tell us on plasticfreecommunities@sas.org.uk and you can find out more about Plastic Free Ramadan here
You can also take action on single use by:
- Downloading an Individual Action Plan
- Telling your school about Plastic Free Schools
- Signing up your business as a Plastic Free Champion
- Checking out the five step community toolkit
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