Professor Gatrad OBE and Deputy Lieutenant to Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant is enlisting the help of West Midlands Miss England Contestants to promote the World Against Single Use Plastic (WASUP) project he started in Walsall.

As a Professor of Paediatrics and a Consultant Paediatrician he has over the years built up a huge network with schools and community organisations. The principles of WASUP are to raise awareness about the dangers of plastic to marine life and humans; to educate children across the UK and the world; and finally for all sectors of the community to pick litter up from the streets and waterways. Many companies such as local McDonalds chains are part of WASUP, with over 100 schools in the UK that have adopted streets around their schools. This initiative has brought together communities and will in due course improve mental health and physical well being of many who get out to litter pick, particularly around canals.

WASUP is now branded with the Commonwealth Games 2022 and many schools have joined the 2022 challenge of collecting 2022 bags of litter by June 2022 and provide the UK with a cleaner environment for over 2m visitors from Commonwealth Countries.

A chance meeting with Angela Beasley, the Director of Miss England led to Professor Gatrad being invited to an afternoon tea with Miss World who fully endorsed the WASUP principles and promised to take the message in her global travels.

The Miss Birmingham & West Midlands heat of Miss England is being held on 26th April at Resorts World Birmingham. Contestants are taking part in an Ethical Fashion round to promote recycling.

They are also invited to spread the news about the WASUP ME CAMPAIGN to promote World Against Single Use Plastic as part of the competition by using their own social media networks to spread the important message.

With the Miss England pageant joining forces with WASUP there will be huge awareness of reducing, reusing and recycling plastic. 

Professor Gatrad has also been invited on the judging panel to follow the contestants campaigns alongside Kelly Levell who founded We Do Ethical Fashion & Brid Bickerton from Resorts World Birmingham.

Angie Beasley the Miss England Director said “We are pleased to support Professor Gatrads inspiring campaign & I’m sure the Miss Birmingham & West Midlands contestants will do a great job in spreading this important message . If it works well in the West Midlands heat, we will encourage all the Miss England Finalists throughout the country to promote the WASUP campaign in our 2020 finals. This fits in well with the ethos of Miss England as we have been promoting ethical fashion & recycling since 2007.

The Miss England final is being held at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole on 30th & 31st July.

To find out more about WASUP – visit this website www.wasupme.com