Sainbury’s Local in Herne Hill will be distributing 600 Herne Hill reusable cloth bags at the till to encourage people to reuse bags rather than using plastic bags. The project is organised by Herne Hill Climate Action Network (CAN).
Therese Stowell, from Herne Hill CAN, approached the store manager, Andy Fox, about handing out the bags. “Sainsbury’s is the biggest retailer in the area and serves a wide range of customers. People popping into the shop for one or two items might not think about bringing their own bag. Hopefully by handing out lovely local bags they will be encouraged to use it again and again.”
Sainsbury’s was happy to distribute the bags. Store Manager Andy Fox said “It is great for us and great for the community – everybody benefits.” The bags will be handed out one per customer during the evening commute period.
Herne Hill CAN is a local grassroots organization working towards carbon reduction. Its members recognise that both individuals and business need to work to address climate change and is pleased to engage Sainsbury’s in this effort.
The bags contain a leaflet explaining why plastics bags are a bad for the environment and 12 fun steps to stopping using them – see end of press release. More information about Herne Hill CAN can be found on www.hernehillcan.org. They run the monthly Herne Hill Green Drinks at the Prince Regent Pub and started Ruskin Park Community Garden. They are currently organising bulk buying of solar panels in the area. They work closely with Herne Hill Forum www.hernehillforum.org.uk.
The bags were funded by the Herne Hill Ward Purse and produced by Herne Hill Forum.
Herne Hill – Saying NO! to plastic bags
What is this campaign about?
This campaign is about making a small change that will have a big effect. On average each person in the UK uses about 22,000 plastic bags in their lives. The average useful life of each bag is approximately 12-20 minutes, after that we just throw it “away”.
So what’s wrong with that?
For plastic “away” doesn’t exist any more – it ends up in landfills, litter about our streets and countryside or worse still floating around in our oceans. The UK beaches now have on average 2000 pieces of litter for every kilometre of beach. 10’s of thousands of our marine animals die from choking on plastics (they think its food) or getting tangled in marine debris.
Don’t they eventually biodegrade?
Plastic doesn’t biodegrade, 96% of the worlds plastic is not even recycled. All that happens is that the plastic photo-degrades, breaking down into smaller and smaller pieces contaminating the landscape and entering the food chain when ingested by animals. Scientists estimate that each plastic item could last in the environment anywhere between 400 to 1000 years. That means that every piece of plastic that we have made since the 1950’s (when mass production of plastic first started) is still on this planet either in our homes, landfill or out in the environment.
But plastic bags are free!
You may not pay for the bag directly but whatever way you look at it you are paying for the bag one way or another. The traders will factor into the costs of your goods the costs of buying all those thousands of plastic bags that get given away. All that unnecessary packaging that we get “given” is estimated to cost the average household £470 per annum.
Plastic accounts for about 8% of the worlds oil production and is a contributor to global warming. We pay via our council tax to take away those unwanted bags and packaging, to fill up our extremely limited land fill sites, to pick up the plastic bags that get blown around the streets as litter or “urban tumbleweed”.
What is the alternative?
Many countries are way ahead of us, by 2010 Australia, France, Bangladesh, South Africa, Italy, Philippines, Kenya and many others will have banned plastic bags.
By using the Herne Hill bag we are estimating that it will do the job of over 1000 plastic bags before it needs to be retired and as it is made of cotton it will fully biodegrade.
Kick the plastic bag habit and take out a re-usable bag whenever you go shopping so if you are ever offered a plastic bag then simply smile and politely decline.
A big thank you to everyone who has signed up to this campaign – your local traders, volunteers and to Dulwich Community Council for funding the initial production of the Herne Hill bag.
12 FUN STEPS TO MAKING YOURSELF BAG-FREE
Step 1: Admit to yourself you are a bag-addict – and had better do something about it before you stuff up your country, your kids’ future and a whole lot of innocent wildlife.
Step 2: Come to believe that you have the power to reject plastic shopping bags. That you can truly live without them. That this power will set you free!
Step 3: Make a firm decision to reject plastic shopping bags, now and forever. Take part in the Plastic Bag Famine and always carry a reusable bag wherever you go.
Step 4: Find out about the mess plastic bags are making of the world. The waste, the choked landfills, the polluted rivers and estuaries, the dead animals, the litter, the greenhouse emissions. Ask yourself: why did I ever become a bag-addict?
Step 5: Confess your addiction to others. Go into your home, workplace or the pub and cry in a loud, proud voice “I am a bag addict”. Be absolutely honest about your addiction to unrecyclable rubbish.
Step 6: Reflect on your bag-crimes. The 25,000 plastic bags you will use in your lifetime were each used for minutes – but they will still be here when your great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandchildren inhabit the place. And their descendents. What kind of ancestor are you?
Step 7: Reflect on whether it was ignorance, laziness or stupidity that made you use plastic bags in the first place. Take a vow to correct these character defects in other aspects of your life as a consumer.
Step 8: Make a list of all the harms which your prodigal and unthinking use of plastic bags has caused. Step 9: Take some action, small or great, to make amends in each case.
Step 10: Lay the foundation for a bag-free future. Beware of the habits that could cause you to lapse back into your old, polluting ways. Always carry a re-useable bag as a symbol of your freedom.
Step 11: Having purged yourself of evil ways, go forth and give some other ugly polluter a serve. Harangue your family, your friends, the shop assistant, the people in the checkout queue and your local politician without drawing breath and without mercy. Never give up until they do.
Step 12: Reflect proudly that, if you never do another damn thing in your life, in giving up plastic bags you have done something worthwhile for the world. You deserve a bloody medal.