Plastic pollution campaign group City to Sea has announced it has secured fresh funding from Triodos Bank UK, providing a major boost to its efforts to crack down on ocean plastic pollution.
The loan – which was for an undisclosed sum – was provided in conjunction with grant and donation funding, City to Sea said.
The group recently announced the expansion of its Refill Destinations programme with 10 more local authorities across the UK signing up to the scheme and is also working on a returnable coffee cup scheme with university campuses in Bath to help cut plastic waste.
“City to Sea have banked with Triodos for almost 10 years now, so when it came to securing a loan to support our growth, it was incredibly valuable to have a relationship with a local, ethical bank that know us well and could take us through the lending process painlessly,” said Natalie Fée, founder of City to Sea. “We’re grateful to have Triodos finance backing us so we can keep investing in our much-needed environmental campaigns.”
Simon Crichton, South West team leader for business banking at Triodos Bank UK, also welcomed the deal. “City to Sea has had an incredible impact in transforming the public’s awareness and approach to unnecessary, everyday plastic use, so we’re pleased to be able to enable them to continue building on this work,” he said.
Both organisations are Bristol-based and were founded with aims of tackling social and environmental challenges.
City to Sea, which was established as a community interest company in 2016, said it works with communities, businesses, and activists to provide practical solutions to the problem of single-use plastic.
Notable campaigns include rolling out water refill schemes and disposable coffee cups, as well as promoting plastic-free periods and lobbying for legislative bans on items such as cotton buds, cutlery, and polystyrene.
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