Oban Plastic Bag Free! at Oban's ABREEF Environment Fair

The Oban Plastic Bag Free! initiative was well represented at this year's ABREEF Oban & Lorn Environment Fair, 25th & 26th September, 2008. Thank you, ABREEF , Sustainable Oban and GRAB Trust, for giving us a platform to voice and illustrate our concerns about plastic waste in general and plastic bags in particular.
We spoke to lots of pupils, teachers and members of the public and found that there are large numbers of people who want to see plastic bags banished from our lives.

A few visual impressions of the event:

Our stall with stark images and tactile examples of sound, sustainable, responsibly-sourced alternatives.

Oban Plastic Bag Free! co-initiator and campaigner, Astrid Horward, smiling at the interest by pupils and the general public.
In front of her, some examples of sensible, sustainable, 100% biodegradable and/or 100% compostable products.

Campaigner Astrid talking to a member of the public.

There really is no excuse for oil-based plastic bags. Look at these examples of traditional alternatives from local producers:

Fiona MacDougall's baskets: a blue and white basket gives new lease of life to plastic bags; it sits atop a traditional crab creel.
Pip Weaser in action and almost eclipsed by samples of fellow basket weavers' work (members of the Scottish Basketmakers' Circle).

Finally, Annabel Gregory's hand-knitted and hand-crocheted bags made from sustainably sourced jute (natural dyes).

Our presence at the ABREEF Fair was a success. Most of the people we spoke to were in favour of a ban on plastic bags.

When they were shown the alternatives, lots of people asked, "But why, if such great alternatives are on the market, don't supermarkets provide them to us?!"
Our response was that there has not been the pressure from above or below, and the alternatives are costlier. Would people be prepared to pay for alternatives? The majority response was, yes. And a lot of people already take their own bags to do their shopping.

So let's keep the pressure up! Thank you for collecting lots of signatures to petition the Scottish government to Ban Plastic Bags.

Oban Plastic Bag Free -- Our Petition

Today, we would like to share with you the wording of the petition we've begun circulating among people and shops in Oban. May this text inspire you all to take up the cause. For an e-copy, please leave a comment with contact details (comment will be published without contact details, unless otherwise specified).

Petition to Ban Plastic Carrier Bags in Scotland
© Astrid Horward, Eco-Promotion

“We the undersigned petition the Scottish Government to ban plastic carrier bags in Scotland and take serious action against plastic packaging in general.”

The Petitioners

Oban Plastic Bag Free! is a group of residents from Oban who are dedicated to providing retailers and consumers with information, education and counsel about plastic carrier bags and packaging and the devastation it causes to the environment.

Introduction

Plastic carrier bags and plastic packaging have a devastating effect on our natural environment. As petroleum based plastic does not bio-degrade, it remains a pollutant in our soils and water for ever.

Plastic is a danger to our wildlife, especially to our marine wildlife. Birds, sea turtles, seal lions, seals, dolphins and other animals become entangled in it or mistake it for food. Once it has degraded into minute plastic particles, it mimics zoo plankton and is easily ingested by fish and birds. In the central pacific gire, research has shown that there is six times more plastic by weight in this area than naturally ocurring plankton.

Plastic is a way to transport Persistant Organic Pollutors (chlordane, PCB, DDT, and DDE to name a few). They attach to the surface area of plastic in the marine environment. We need to establish whether, upon ingestion, these plastics transfer chemicals to the food chain and thus accumulate in fatty tissues and organs. As humans are at the top of the marine food chain, this could be a major cause for concern.

Plasticizers are a group of chemicals that are added to plastic resins during the manufacturing process.It has been established that traces of these chemicals leach out when they come into contact with food or drink. It has also been established that some of these plasticizers are now known to be carcinogenic and endocrine disruptors.

Plastic is made out of oil, a finite and therefore very valuable resource. Plastic production uses 8% of all the world's oil production. At the current rate the world produces 200 million tons of plastic a year. Less than 3.5% is recycled.

Several countries have taken or are taking serious action against plastic carrier bags and packaging. Bangladesh, Ireland, Taiwan, France, West Bengal, Tanzania, Switzerland, Rwanda, Pakistan, Denmark, Germany, South Africa, Italy, Australia, India, Somalia, Botswana, Philippines, Uganda, Kenya, Japan, Turkey, Zanzibar, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Belgium, South Korea, Singapore, Sweden, Bhutan, Malta, China…

We feel the Scottish government needs to follow their inspired and courageous example.

We therefore strongly appeal to the Scottish government to take prompt action and:
- ban plastic as a material for disposable products.
- encourage and reward businesses who ban free disposable plastic carrier bags and packaging.
- provide/create facilities where all plastic can be fully recyled.
- inform the public of the dangers of disposable plastic products.

Sources:
Modbury, South Devon – Great Britain's First Plastic Bag Free Town; Waste Online; Mindfully.org; Algalita Marine Research Foundation; Greenpeace Ocean Defenders; London: the Mayor of London, the London Assembly and the Greater London Authority; City of Newport, South Wales, UK; New Scientist; US Environmental Protection Agency; Ecologycenter Berkeley, CA, USA; Environmental Research Foundation; UNEP – United Nations Environment Program; Australian Government, Department of the Environment, Water, ...; IISD – International Institute for Sustainable Development; American Chemical Society; and many more.

Plastic Bag Free -- Resources, Information

Some 'hard' information concerning the negative impact of plastic bags and plastic waste.

We wish to emphasise the fact that we follow in Modbury's excellent footsteps and use free available research and information on the devastation caused by plastic worldwide.

All the suppliers we recommend to our shops have an excellent environmental performance and come highly recommended by the founder of Modbury's Plastic Bag Free campaign, Rebecca Hosking.

As for the hotly debated "bio-plastic" (PLA7), the London Bio Packaging Website explains that bio-plastic is NOT a plastic but made from 100% biodegradable starches. PLA7 has the properties of plastic and is therefore classified among plastics:
"Bio-plastic is fully recyclable. It is registered as a number 7 recyclable plastic. In fact, where a PET product can only be made out of 25% recycled material bio-plastic can be made out of 100% recycled material.
"Will PLA contaminate the recycling stream? No, as long as bio-plastics make up less than 1% of all plastics they won’t affect the quality of recycled products. In addition, roughly 10% of recycling centres in the UK have machines that can sort bio-plastic from PET and HDPE. With increasing environmental pressures more are expected to follow. The more PLA is used the more recycling centres will want to install the correct sorting facilities. An upwards spiral has started."
(from http://www.londonbiopackaging.com/disposal?page=0%2C1, accessed on Sept 19, 2008)


For more on the devastation caused by plastic, see the following striking documentaries:

• Synthetic Seas
and
• Hawai'i - message in the waves
Documentary from BBC Natural History Unit
50 minutes
Trailer (from here to ***, as found on http://www.messageinthewaves.com/):
[It] is a film from the BBC Natural History Unit looking at some of the environmental challenges facing the people and wildlife of the Hawaiian Islands.
Although the documentary is from a Hawaiian perspective it is really a global film. Because of their size, location and social history, the Hawaiian Islands represent a microcosm of the planet and are in a unique position to tell all of us where we are going wrong and what we can do to help put things right.
There are many messages in the waves but the one we learned in Hawai'i that we feel requires immediate attention is that of global plastic pollution. We have put this website together to provide some more information about the problem and how you as an individual can directly help!!! Please look at our action and links page for helpful tips. Take inspiration from towns in the UK that are now going plastic bag free due to watching this documentary. You see you can make a direct difference.!!
'Kuleana' - privilege AND responsibility. Although we made the film, this is an unofficial web companion and does not reflect the views of the BBC.
***
The BBC site also has a torrent download link.

Oban Plastic Bag Free shops

© Photos: MPJ, Sept. 2008

This a list of Oban shops and businesses who already sell their own reusable bags,
and/or have pledged to do so, and/or hand out only paper bags (in alphabetical order):

• Albany newsagent and convenience store (01631 564635) -- have stopped handing out plastic bags and provide organic cotton reusable bags for a modest amount of money.
• Bolliwood (walnut carvings, furniture & Pashmina suppliers) -- do not provide plastic bags; owner changed to paper bags after a conversation with the local street cleaner who showed her what plastic rubbish can do.
• Boots (chemists) -- have reusable cotton bag, proceeds go to a charity.
• Cancer Research Oban (01631 563 296): only hand out plastic bags they have received themselves and have reportedly never bought any plastic bags for the shop
• Coop Oban (supermarket; The Co-operative Food, Oban) -- the first supermarket to sell a reusable bag made of organic cotton; sadly, they also give away free "disposable" plastic bags.
• Homebase Oban -- provide brown paper bags.
• Island Design -- owner provides paper bags only and offers recycled plastic bags to customers who request a plastic bag.
• Kitchen Garden (delicatessen & café -- have an impressive display illustrating the nefarious effects of plastic on the environment -- well worth a visit! They were the first shop in Oban to pledge to a plastic bag free shopping experience.
Taken from their website: “The Kitchen Garden has decided that it can no longer be party to the huge proliferation of plastic that is inflicting so much damage to all life forms, especially those in the marine environment. Therefore, once our current supply runs out (estimated to be November 2008) we will no longer be issuing plastic bags to our customers. This alone will see 50,000 fewer plastic bags a year in circulation in Oban and beyond. It is our intention to replace all our plastic products, not just the bags with environmentally friendly, renewable alternatives over the next 12 months.”

Click on the photo for an enlarged view. You will then be able to read the caption: "To give an example of how long plastic lasts in the ocean. In 2001 a piece of plastic found in an albatross stomach bore a serial number that was traced to a World War II seaplane shot down in 1944 (US Fish & Wildlife)"
Have pledged to change to biodegradable plastic over the next few months, including packaging (see their website).
© Photograph: MPJ

• Millstone (Health and Wholefood) -- hand bags out on request; also provide strong cotton bags for £2.00 each, and sell string bags from local string bag producer Annabel Gregory.
• Oxfam Oban (01631 566465) -- have a non-plastic bag policy (but hand them out quite freely).
• Tesco's (supermarket with a credit point system for regular customers who bring their own bags, a good idea -- sadly, they also have tons of thin plastic bags on the checkout counters).
• Waterstone's (bookshop)
• Whitmore and Hamilton (gifts and jewellery etc. made in Scotland) -- still hand bags out on customer request but strongly support initiative and are interested in changing when bag stock is depleted.
• ...

and many more -- come back for updates to the list as more shops join up.

What do you people think out there? Should we list the shops that hand out plastic bags without asking and/or offer plastic bags rather than ask, "Do you need a bag?" ?