Kingston Council has rejected calls to phase out plastics in a cemetery, despite a petition signed by more than 1,200 people.

Ecologist Alison Fure asked the authority to better enforce the ban on plastic decorative items at Kingston Cemetery – including ornaments, artificial flowers, pots, windmills and cellophane wrappers – to protect the environment.

A petition submitted by Alison to Kingson Council said that while the "cemetery should be a place of natural peace, dignity, and reflection… many areas are increasingly covered in cellophane wrappers, plastic plant pots, broken ornaments, artificial flowers, windmills, and general litter".

Alison's petition said this "accumulation not only detracts from the serenity of the grounds but also creates a massive environmental issue". It attracted support from residents, with 1,241 signatures overall.

The council heard that while its policy already prohibited plastic decorations and fencing in the cemetery, which is a Grade I Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC), it was still littered with these items.

Alison said the problem had only grown worse, and she had spent hours picking up plastic from the cemetery.

She told the meeting plastic items often became litter that spread across the cemetery and gradually broke down into microplastics, which stayed in the environment and polluted the neighbouring Hogsmill River.

A report by council officers responding to the petition said the authority's focus was on collaboration rather than formally enforcing the ban on plastics at the cemetery.

It said it was prioritising a "hearts and minds" educational campaign, including new signs and QR codes, to encourage visitors to stick to the rules.

The report said staff were told to remove plastic and cellophane wrappers from flowers during routine maintenance, and carried out litter picks in the cemetery twice a week.

Alison said the council needed to go further by writing to cemetery users asking them to remove plastic decorations, and clear those that remained in the next month, while also giving targets for how much plastic should be cleared by staff and when residents could expect to see improvements.

In a written statement supporting her petition, she added: "I would welcome the opportunity to support any initiative aimed at restoring the cemetery to a more natural and respectful environment over time. It will have to come eventually, and that time is now."

Lib Dem Council leader Andreas Kirsch promised the council would work with volunteers on the issue, but said it had to balance protecting the cemetery with the needs of bereaved families.

Lib Dem Councillor Sam Foulder-Hughes said: "I want our approach to be based on compassion and empathy for the bereaved, and that to be balanced with our need to protect our biodiverse spaces."

Independent Councillor James Giles, submitting a motion, called on the authority to agree to a phased withdrawal of plastic decorations at the cemetery over three months.

He said: "I have sympathy with the arguments put forward, that there is a balance to be struck, but what is the point in having a policy… if that policy is never going to be enforced?"

Councillor Giles' motion was rejected, however, with 33 councillors voting against it, two in favour and three abstentions.

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