We think this is important because by signing this petition, you could help with issues like: Landfill, food waste and also compost improves soil structure so that soil can easily hold the right amount of moisture, nutrients and air. Another reason to help our cause is compost helps soil to hold or sequester carbon dioxide which is good for our environment. In conclusion we want to help your's, ours and everyone's environment.

Our use of plastic is unsustainable and we are killing our planet. Let's not change plastic-free packaging to plastic-containing at the very time we can change our world for the better.

Alongside 650 others, I ran the Taunton DLO 10K on 30th September. I was disappointed to discover that the halfway drinks station was handing out plastic bottles of water, the majority of which were slung over the next few hundred metres. An estimated 1,300 single use plastic bottles were generated at this event. Even more were handed out at the Marathon and Half Marathon event in April. This is just unnecessary plastic waste generation that can easily be replaced by more environmentally-friendly alternatives, such as using paper cups at the drinks stations. Cutting out single use plastic bottles at such events is important as it would demonstrate the council’s leadership and responsibility in reducing plastic waste locally. It would show the council's commitment to honouring the Somerset-wide "Pledge against Preventable Plastics" taken on World Environment Day. Please sign this petition, endorsed by Taunton Transition Town, for a more sustainable and plastic-free future locally!

This area contains a large SSSI, a special Landscape area and one of the largest blanket bogs in the world helping to reduce global warming (by sequestering carbon). The exact location proposed seems very vague, but this cannot be good for such an important environment. Most mentions of the plan do not show the exact proposed location and do not mention the important & fragile environments in the area.

It is dangerous to smoke whilst driving, as it not only endangers the driver, but other road users. Currently, the law outlaws smoking if the vehicle is a work vehicle, as it is an extension of the workplace, but this does not go far enough and ban drivers from smoking in their own vehicles too.

To allow daily movement for the individual, business, visitors, all people who wish to access Argyll and Bute via the A83

Brockham, in Surrey’s Green Belt, is about to be subject to a new and controversial type of oil extraction and production. This involves the use of chemicals, acids, reinjected waste fluids and gas flaring which can release toxins into our air and water sources. These risk harm to our health and environment. Astonishingly, no statutory body is monitoring air or water quality, nor have they required disclosure of the type and quantities of chemicals to be used. This is because the site is being allowed to operate under an old-style environmental permit appropriate for a simple nodding donkey type pump – NOT the new technique about to be deployed. The Environment Agency has been in the process of putting in a modern-style permit for over 2 years, but it is still unclear when this will be completed. The Environment Agency wrote last year: “We are in the process of bringing their permits up to a modern standard, including a declaration of chemicals used. As a result that information will only become available in time.” The time has surely come. The new 'sidetrack' hole was drilled without authorisation or planning permission in January 2017 when Angus Energy misled Surrey Council into believing they were simply performing maintenance work. Despite being misled, Surrey County Council shockingly issued retrospective planning permission in August 2018. We have serious concerns over the operator's competence and integrity. Angus Energy now have carte blanche to commence extraction from unconventional geology using new methods that are neither properly regulated or monitored. Brockham is in an area with much groundwater and numerous water courses and we are highly concerned about the water pollution risks this new activity presents. During a recent test from the same rock formations at Balcombe in Sussex, the same company Angus Energy hit "unexpected high-pressure water" through "fractured communication" with other layers, highlighting the reality of the risks we face. We are also concerned about the impacts on public health from the gas flaring and gas engine combustion, which are projected to produce significant emissions of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and undetermined quantities of Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S). Brockham will be amongst the first sites in the country to attempt commercial production from shale rock. The target Jurassic Kimmeridge layer has been compared by the authorities to the Bakken Formation in North Dakota, where the use of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling brought about mass industrialisation and thousands of wells. In the interests of people's health and the environment this new activity should not be allowed, at the very least until a new Environmental Permit with stricter modern regulation and control is in place. We simply seek to properly respect and protect our health and environment and are asking the Environment Agency and Government to do the same. - - - [1] Brockham Oil Watch are raising funds to commission professional baseline air and water monitoring. https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/brockham-oil-watch?fbclid=IwAR1kPGcARen3kaNHqysTe7JfrbhVHlTMOjUGpmiaqeKM4HAJUvk7IlDNMdU [2] More detail here: https://drillordrop.com/2018/06/14/residents-uncover-regulatory-loophole-at-surrey-oil-site/ [3] and here: https://drillordrop.com/2018/10/23/leading-surrey-councillor-lists-challenges-of-working-with-weald-oil-companies/

I've lived in four different counties in England and Wales over the past decade and it's struck me that despite wanting to recycle, every time I moved, I had to do hours of research to find out what was locally recyclable and what wasn't. Why can I recycle polypropylene (plastic no. 5) in Northamptonshire, but not in West Yorkshire? Why do I have to throw out into general waste what I could recycle, were I in a different county? Should I keep all that waste and recycle it at a friend's house 150 miles from my own? This is not an acceptable state of affairs. All we want to do is the right thing: divert unnecessary waste from landfill. Landfills use land, pollute waterways and the air we breathe. They affect humans, animals and plants alike. Landfill should be a last resort for our waste, and recycling should not be an uphill battle. Many manufacturers want to do their bit too. But when there are different rules in different councils, how can they ensure that their packaging can actually be recycled everywhere and not in just a few areas? How can they be expected to solve such a massive problem? Locally managed recycling schemes don't work for consumers or manufacturers. They add to confusion and frustration. A nation-wide recycling policy would reduce unnecessary waste going into landfill and make the most of existing facilities. It would lead to less confusion and higher recycling rates. It would also allow manufacturers to make economically safe, more environmentally-friendly decisions about their products and their packaging. The more we recycle, the less waste goes into landfill and the lower our impact on our environment is. Calls for a unified recycling policy and kerbside collection have been made over a decade ago.(*) This issue is only growing in importance. The time has come to show some real leadership and do the right thing. * Guy Singh-Watson, Riverford, in 'Guy's Rant: The Plastic Problem', https://youtu.be/Cylp_tTrSZg?t=208

The UK breakfast cereal market is worth over £1.6 billion - that's a lot of boxes of cereal! Currently the vast majority of bags inside cereal boxes in the UK (and Worldwide) are not recyclable so they end up going in the bin and off to landfill. That's an awful lot of landfill and potentially a massive plastic pollution problem when those plastic bags end up in the wrong place, like in our rivers and seas. Plastic packaging has been found intact after 47 years. During that time discarded plastics have had negative impacts on the health of our wildlife and ecosystems. At today's consumption rates, billions of cereal bags will be sent to landfill. Those which don't make it (either whole or as microplastics) end up being ingested by animals, fish or birds leading to their ill health and early death.

🐝 There has been a Government commitment to create a network of wildlife habitats in the countryside since 2010. Our bees and other pollinators are in trouble, their wildflower habitats are widely fragmented and they are unable to move north to escape from climate change. 🐝 The Protection of Pollinators Bill, due for 2nd reading on 26th October, would create an English network of B-Lines – corridors where wildflower meadows would be restored, linking back together the homes of our endangered pollinators. 🐝 Without bees and other pollinating bugs we would not have apples, strawberries, tomatoes or many other crops – they are worth about £700 million to British agriculture. Our pollinators are also wonderful animals and our populations of wild flowers and birds depend on them as well.

The excessive number of flies present in the village (and surrounding villages) is having a detrimental effect on the lives of residents and their families. A constant threat of disease and bacteria, material internal damage to property and expenditure on sprays, screens, tapes and specialist equipment is making peoples lives a misery. We know that it has been a hot summer, but the sheer volume of flies is due to more than the weather and living in a rural area. The image at the top of the page was taken in a West Dereham House. The owner is scrubbing every surface clean each day with bleach in desperation to rid the house of flies and their detritus, only for it to return to this state the following day. Another resident described her young daughter in tears as she abandoned her breakfast due to flies crawling all over the table and the bowl she was eating from. Others have said that family and friends refuse to visit because of the flies, whilst some avoid returning home because of the misery that awaits them. Residents have come forward to say they are reduced to tears by being unable to cook a meal cleanly and safely - just simple things that we take for granted. Anyone that has children will understand what it is like to worry about keeping them safe and healthy and for the residents of West Dereham (and the other villages affected) this is at the forefront of their mind 24 hours a day. Houseflies are known to act as vessels for over 100 pathogens - really nasty bugs and diseases which they spread as they crawl across food and surfaces. When flies feed they first release saliva and digestive juices over food and then sponge up the resulting solution. Enough to give you nightmares particularly when you have a young family. We are asking our MP to take action on our behalf and to apply pressure to both the Environment Agency and King's Lynn Borough council to take urgent action. If nothing is done, we face being in exactly this situation again in 2019. Please support us in pressing for action to be taken by signing this petition.

I have a lung condition as do other members of my family and for this reason air quality is one that it close to my heart. I am most worried about the effects of the dirty air caused by traffic on my son and granddaughter who have severe asthma. Air pollution is a public health crisis, with illegal and harmful levels of air pollution across Greater Manchester. We need national and local government to act to clean up our air and make our towns and cities a healthier place to live for everyone but especially for babies and children. Air pollution affects us all, from when we are in the womb through to old age. It is linked to premature births and can stunt lung growth in children. Air pollution can trigger heart attacks and strokes, worsens asthma attacks and causes lung cancer. Babies, children and older people are more vulnerable to the impacts of air pollution. We need the all the Councils, across Manchester, with the support of national government, to take urgent action to clean up our air to protect the health of children and babies. Please support me and sign this petition!