Wayne David MP visited Nicola Downie Florists in Cardiff Road Caerphilly to hear more about initiatives taken by local business woman Nicola to reduce the volume of plastics used by the shop.

The florist, who delivers fresh flowers to Caerphilly and surrounding areas, has taken a conscious decision to cut down on the use of plastics when preparing flowers for customers and encourages buyers to accept paper bags rather than plastic ones when wrapping the flowers.

Where customers request a plastic bag the charge levied for this by the retailer goes straight to local charities.

Wayne David MP said, “It was a pleasure to visit the shop and meet with Nicola and her staff and to witness practical steps being taken by a local business to help reduce the use of plastics day-to-day.  I would encourage other local businesses to think about how they might follow this lead and reduce their own use of plastics”

The visit followed a meeting with local constituent Phillip Horrell who is a campaigner against single use plastics.

During his visit Wayne David was also told of other community initiatives by the florist, including running local flower arranging classes for both children and adults.   This community engagement was rewarded during the recent bad weather when local 4×4 owners volunteered their vehicles to help the shop fulfill deliveries for funerals and weddings, despite the snow.

Wayne added, “This is an excellent example of a local business person recognising the importance of being an integral part of the local community, providing benefits to local consumers and in return reaping the benefits of their support.  It is a model I would recommend to all businesses in the Caerphilly constituency”