Let's make our town plastic free – that was the plea from pupils at Damers First School in Poundbury.

Dorchester Chamber of Business held its February networking breakfast at the Dorford Centre in Dorchester.

The theme was plastic-free Dorchester and as part of the breakfast, pupils from the school, who called themselves the Damers Eco Ambassadors, gave a special presentation to remind chamber members of the importance of looking after the planet and how simple office consumables can have an impact.

Steve Farnham, president of Dorchester Chamber for Business, said: “What a wonderful event. It is great to see the passion that is in Dorchester to help it achieve ‘plastic free’ status and how the different organisations have come together.

“I must thank our secretary, Miranda Woodgate, who organised the event, for pulling everything together. Edd Moore certainly has some great backing from the children at Damers First School. They provided an amazing performance to finish off a truly inspiring event.”

Ed Moore, eco co-ordinator and a teacher at Damers First School, gave a talk about the school’s journey to gain Plastic Free School Status. He highlighted the work they are doing to encourage Poundbury businesses to reduce the use of single-use plastics and help with recycling items, which in turn provides a revenue stream for the school.

“What a fantastic experience and platform for the children to share their Plastic Free Dorchester Campaign with the members of Dorchester Chamber for Business,” he said.

He added: “This event has allowed the children of Damers to get into the heart of businesses in Dorchester making them aware of the problems of single-use plastic. We hope many businesses will now sign up and support Plastic Free Dorchester by agreeing to remove three single-use plastics from their business or finding three sustainable alternatives.”

The breakfast was also attended by the Mayor of Dorchester, Cllr David Taylor, along with more than 80 chamber members.

The school is also involved in other eco projects and are currently asking businesses to give up three single-use plastics or find three alternatives instead.

Businesses will be asked to sign up to the scheme to help Dorchester achieve plastic-free status, alongside other towns in Dorset, such as Lyme Regis and Wimborne.