I’m always struck by the sheer number of plastic bags walking out of a supermarket on their way to the landfill. Some retailers are starting to make an effort … I’ve now got an assortment of calico and green cloth shopping bags stuffed down next to the fridge … but more needs to be done.
I often get people emailing me at Greenpeace asking about alternatives and whether we’re working on the issue. Just this morning I got an email from someone about who’d been to Samoa and found that they were using biodegradable ‘plastic’ bags. (Tagged with the code CPNREMPTI 707002 ). So there are alternatives. You’d think that in ‘clean green new zealand’ we’d be more ahead of the game than we are.
Check out The ‘bag ladies’ at Plastic Bag Free Golden Bay - looks liek the start of a good campaign… and good to see Angus Ho is doing the rounds.
Since February 2007, Angus Ho, organiser of Hong Kong’s NO Plastic Bag Day with almost 2500 retailers joining in, has been touring New Zealand and realised just how many like-minded campaigning groups there are. He has convened a national group called Kiwi PlasticBag Concern, an alliance of Golden Bay Bag Ladies, Wanaka Wastebusters, Community Recyclers of Otago, Green Teens, BagsNOT group and many other passionate individuals who want to work together to have a national voice.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
A few years ago, while working at a large yellow supermarket as a check-out chick, it was recommended (by management) that we give out 1 bag per $20 of groceries - so if a customer bought $100 worth of goods, they would get 5 bags. But…It was never enough !!! Customers frequently (and very rudely) demanded \
How depressing.
great idea i think you should keep that rule and you will end up savimg plenty of $
http://www.noplasticbags.org.nz is a new grass roots website dedicated to a New Zealand free from plastic carry bags. Around the world more and more countries are banning or taxing plastic bags and it is time for New Zealand to wake up and do the same.
This is about much more than fixing the problems directly caused by plastic bags, it is about increasing the capacity of our society to change. Because very significant change is what is required to face the twin threats of climate change and peak oil.
It is not a campaign to eliminate plastic bags, it is a campaign to convince people to consider the consequences of their choices and to make personal changes that help build a vibrant future for us all.
Utilizing cutting edge online collaboration tools we can work together more effectively than ever before, so feel free to drop by our campaign centre at http://noplasticbags.ning.com and lend a hand. No matter how much time you can spare or what skills you can offer we would love to have you on board.