A COLLABORATIVE new campaign to enable Haslemere to become a pioneering and progressive town for cutting down on waste got off to a flying start.

More than 100 supporters attended the launch of Love Haslemere Hate Waste – the brainchild of St Bartholomew’s Primary School governor Victoria Page, a successful brand strategist and sustainability champion.

Victoria’s vision, which she spelled out at the launch in Haslemere Museum, is first to focus on reducing single-use plastic in partnership with the Surfers Against Sewage Plastic Free Communities initiative.

With the support of St Bart’s, she has already started to put this into practice by cutting out single-use items, such as coffe cups and plastic bottles, at recent school events including the Christmas Fair, to try to implement change.

Following the June 12 launch, she led the first scrap heap challenge at the school on Father’s Day, by collecting a mound of recyclable rubbish and presenting a Love Haslemere Hate Waste trophy to the winning team that had created the best artwork on the theme of transport.

Her idea of the town becoming a model nationally in leading the way on the war against unecessary waste, has clearly struck a chord locally.

Representatives from town businesses and community groups joined Haslemere Independent county councillor Nikki Barton and Green Party town councillor Gary Lloyd at the launch.

Campaign objectives she hopes to achieve within the first three years are to eliminate single-use plastic, to reduce the amount of household and commercial food waste, to support businesses to become more resource efficient and to encourage changes that are positive for waste prevention, re-use, repair and recycling.

The campaign has already urged Haslemere Food Festival to go single-use plastic free at this year’s event.

Victoria told the Herald: “I feel very privileged to be part of the town community and I’m overwhelmed so many people came to the launch.

“Haslemere has some serious talent and I’m looking forward to collaborating to help make the town a better place to live and work.

“I’ve had so many offers of help it’s almost taken my breath away.

“ I didn’t think my little seed of an idea would have been transformed into this thriving campaign.

“I want to try to seed the campaign into everything we do and Haslemere is already so wonderfully networked, we have the tools to share.”