Rochdale first – as festival goes plastic free

Arron Dixon from The Paper Concept with Paul Ambrose and Jayne May from event organisers Rochdale Town Centre Management

The Street Eat festival will be the first in the borough to be plastic free when it is held in Rochdale Town Hall Square this month.

Organisers have banned single use plastics at the event on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 May, with all traders using environmentally friendlier paper alternatives instead.

Tasty food from restaurant chefs will be served over the Bank Holiday weekend with dozens of mouth-watering dishes to choose from including Spanish, Italian, Thai, English, Chinese, German American and more. 

All food will be served in compostable sugar cane cartons or on sugar cane plates that are heat resistant and grease proof. You’ll be able to tuck in using wooden cutlery, and drinks will be served in 100% paper cups, with paper straws. Even the table linings will be from 100% recycled kraft paper. 

In fact, everything used to serve food and drinks at the event will be home compostable, and recycling bins will be on site.

The festival experimented with some paper products last year, but this is the first time it’s been totally plastic free.

Organiser Paul Ambrose, BID Manager from Rochdale Town Centre Management said: “Using and recycling more and more plastic isn’t a long term solution, so we’re committed to Street Eat being single-use plastic free and I hope visitors will agree this is a step in the right direction. We want the event to have the least possible impact on the environment.”

All the biodegradable alternatives have been supplied by Rochdale company The Paper Concept whose aim is to rid the market of single use plastics, and owner Arron Dixon from Rochdale said he’s excited to be involved in improving the events environmental credentials: “We attended Street Eat last year and were really impressed, but I’m very proud that we’ve been able to help make the first plastic free festival in Rochdale a reality. It just shows what can be done by working together and demonstrates the pioneering spirit is very much alive and well. I think Street Eat visitors will be impressed by the quality of the alternatives.“

Unlike some PLA coated paper products which require industrial composters, The Paper Concepts products that will be used at Street Eat meet strict ethical guidelines and can be composted at home.