An environmental campaigning charity is set to close due to what it describes as “chronic underinvestment” as well as “systemic inertia”.
Bristol-based City to Sea was founded a decade ago, and has won several awards for campaigning against plastic pollution and developing ways to reuse and refill plastic products, but has now announced that it will be closing before the end of this month.
City to Sea attributed its closure to the fact that “progressive not-for-profit organisations cannot bear the financial and operational burden of de-risking the transition to reuse for government and business”.
The charity added that its closure “signals that visionary solutions risk being lost due to systemic inertia and chronic underinvestment”.
It also cited “the scarcity and competitive nature of grant funding” as well as “difficult economic times for corporate partners” as reasons for its closure.
According to the charity’s most recently filed accounts for the year ending 31 January 2024, it employed nine members of staff and recorded an annual income of just over £300,000 while its expenditure exceeded this at £364,000.
CEO critical of lack of funding despite growing public demand
City to Sea’s CEO, Jane Martin, said in a statement on the closure: “When we started, refill and reuse were nowhere to be seen in strategic roadmaps and business plans.
“Since then, we’ve witnessed real shifts with city-wide reuse initiatives across the UK and upcoming extended producer responsibility and deposit return scheme legislations.
“But despite growing public demand for reuse, the reality is that underfunding, lack of enabling regulation, and a system still optimised for single-use have made our mission as a non-profit increasingly unsustainable.
“The new reuse economy desperately needs bolder commitments from governments, brands and retailers. They need to be on the right side of history: It’s time to turn talk into action, with deeper investment, legally-binding regulation and cross-sector collaboration.”
The charity has vowed to “secure the long-term legacy” of its programmes and campaigns, with further announcements set to be made in the coming weeks.
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