Mansfield woman calls for ban on plastic flower tributes at crematorium

Lynda Kinnard and her mother visited the Derby Road crematorium to pay respect to her late father when they encountered what she describes as an “unnecessary” amount of plastic flowers at graves.

As they went to place fresh flowers in a remembrance vase, the mother and daughter were alarmed that the non-recyclable plastic products and wreaths were “all over the place” – and she wants change.

Lynda has called on Mansfield District Council to consider banning plastic products from the crematorium and discourage people from using them.

She said: “I understand people like to remember their loved ones in this way, but I was also very upset and angry at all the plastic flowers and wreaths all over the place.

“This will undoubtedly go into landfill and create more unnecessary, non-recyclable rubbish.

“I’m sure the council would agree that, now and in the future, we should not encourage people to use plastic in this way together.

“The council should ban plastic from the crematorium, and I urge them to do so as soon as possible.”

Councillor Andy Burgin, portfolio holder for the environment at Mansfield District Council, says the council plans to discuss plastic use in the coming months.

He said: “The issue of plastic flowers and tributes is a difficult one to tackle but we plan to discuss this with the crematorium joint committee.

“All policies relating to the crematorium are set by this committee, which includes representatives from Mansfield, Newark and Sherwood and Ashfield district councils.

“While Mansfield District Council is committed to becoming more environmentally aware, we also understand that some people do not visit the crematorium regularly and may find comfort in knowing their loved one’s memorial has permanent flowers on it.

“There are a lot of Christmas tributes in the grounds at the moment and it is never easy to determine when is too early or too late to remove them.

“Every year we start removing them on the last day in January and work is continuing now.”