Camberwell kids launch online petition to ban use of wasteful plastic in packing

By Michael Robinson

Three friends have launched an online petition to ban use of wasteful plastic in packing. 

Camberwell girls Raya Branford, 11, Katie Leeming, 11 and Katia Woods, 10, who all attend Lyndhurst school in Camberwell have launched a petition online to stop the use of packing peanuts made from non-renewable plastic in the UK. 

They launched their campaign on change.org to promote the use of eco-friendly options such as biodegradable corn starch packaging chips instead of polystyrene chips to help the environment. 

Raya said: “We believe It is vital that we tackle all environmental issues we can now, because if we don’t, we are certain all of humanity is at great risk.  

“We think this is quite a big problem because they’re unnecessary and there are a lot of eco-friendly alternatives that we could be using, and people don’t even know about it very much.” 

“We believe this is an achievable goal. 

“If we win this battle it is sure to make a positive impact on our environment, as the chips are used all too much and go straight to landfill.” 

Katie said: “It’s very hard to make change and small changes can make a big difference.” 

They have all taken part in multiple school climate strikes and listed environmental activist Greta Thunberg as their inspiration. 

Katia said: “She’s a true idol and she’s doing something for us as well.” 

They said that her activism at such a young age helped give them and other kids across the world the confidence to strive for action on climate change. 

Raya said: “We wanted to kind of do something a bit bigger and actually make a big difference because going on climate strikes, it’s very good and it’s very helpful, but just us three, we weren’t going to make a big difference if we just did that.” 

“I don’t think we would have really done it without her.” 

Packing peanuts made from polystyrene are not commonly recycled and often end up in landfill sites. 

The girls have written press releases and sent emails to various people and organisations in their own time to spread their message. 

They hope the government will consider their request and have called on them to make this change.  

The petition has received support from their parents, teachers and school who have spread it around their school and on social media. 

The petition was launched two months ago and has reached over 600 signatures nearing its goal of 1000. 

The petition can be found HERE