Plastic bags: what the fuss should really be about
Last time I walked past my local Sainsburys there were so many plastic bags caught in the bushes around the car park that at first sight I thought the bags were white blossom covering the plants.
Anya Hindmarch can design as many bags as she wants - it's not going to solve the problems caused by plastic bags until people start using them to put their shopping in instead of using them as status symbols or trying to flog them on eBay. The whole 'not a plastic bag' story has left me frothing with barely-contained green rage, so I was happy to read a truly positive story in the Independent yesterday; the town of Modbury in Devon has banished plastic bags.
The move is credited to wildlife filmmaker Rebecca Hosking, who was so distraught by the environmental damage she saw caused by plastic in Hawaii that she vowed to do something about it.
She made a film showing the effects of plastic on wildlife - chicks and turtles choking on plastic; dead dolphin with their blow holes covered by plastic bags - and showed it to traders in her local town of Modbury. As a result, from yesterday shops there will not give out free plastic bags but will instead sell long-lasting fairtrade cotton bags at their cost price of £1.50 for a small bag and £3.95 for a larger one.
It's only one town, but as Hosking says:
"If we can inspire one other small town which inspires another one and so on, then this could really snowball. That is when the supermarkets will have to listen. At the moment it is working brilliantly - I would recommend any town to do it."
You can take your own step towards banishing plastic by finding something else to put your shopping in - a rucksack, a wicker basket - it doesn't really matter what, and making sure you take it with you when you go shopping. trust me, it's much more effective than any fashion symbol.
It's not very long ago really that free plastic bags were introduced. We all just need to get into the mindset again of taking something with us to put our shopping in. Modbury is setting a great example which will hopefully catch on.
Posted by: Hayley Jones | May 3, 2007 1:07 PM