Oban Plastic Bag Free!

We didn't have that "green" thing back then...

2012-01-25T02:14:00.000Z

I can't resist re-posting this ... thanks to Jenny Macdonald, thanks to Marion Power ... (both on facebook):

Think on this:
At the supermarket checkout recently, the young cashier suggested I should bring my own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment. I apologised and explained, "We didn't have this green thing back in my earlier days."
The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations."

She was right about one thing -- our generation didn't have the green thing in “our” day. So what did we have back then?
After some reflection and soul-searching on "our" day, here's what I remembered we did have:

Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the shop. The shop sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles repeatedly. So they really were recycled. But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.
We walked up stairs because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building.
We walked to the grocery shop and didn't climb into a 300HP vehicle every time we had to go two-hundred yards. But she was right. We didn't have the green thing in our day.
Back then, we washed the baby's nappies because we didn't have the throw-away kind.
We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy-gobbling machine burning up 3 kilowatts -- wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our day.
Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing.
But that young lady is right. We didn't have the green thing back in our day.
Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of Argyll. And a local electrician would repair it when it stopped working. We didn't bin it and buy a new one.
In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the post, we used wadded-up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.
Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn petrol just to cut the grass. We used a push mower that ran on human power.
We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to the gym to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she's right. We didn't have the green thing back then.
We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water.
We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But we didn't have the green thing back then.
Back then, people took the bus, and kids rode their pushbikes to school or walked, instead of turning their parents into a 24-hour taxi service.
We had one electrical socket in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest chippie.

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then?

Feel free to post this on so another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smarty-pants young person can add to this... ;)
Thank you!

For some great ideas about recycling and reducing litter, see here: http://www.grab.org.uk/
and why we should bother to recycle, here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/may/24/greenpolitics.localgovernment
==> we're fast running out of landfill sites, for example, not to mention the waste of resources unless valuable materials are recycled.

Oban shores full of rubbish after the storms

2012-01-23T18:05:00.000Z

Following the first big storm of 2012 to hit Oban,
I ventured out along the Esplanade. This is what I found.
Do let's try to keep packaging – and plastics – to an absolute minimum.

A plea by Keep Scotland Tidy as seen on one of the big litter bins near the Columba Hotel

Glorious Oban Bay...

Not so glorious when you look close...

Oban's Esplanade pavement all but impassable to pedestrians

The derelict fishing vessel completely destroyed

Swans sitting on the beach in the "Wee Oban Bay", amid litter that's been there for weeks, not just since the latest storm on 3Jan2012!

In the usual places, the rubbish eddies along with the bladderwrack

Bio-Plastics -- Bio?? -- Plastics?? Questions and answers

2012-01-11T12:26:00.001Z

This is a historic entry from about 2009 that – for some obscure reason – never made it into the blog, some information may be outdated by now. Still instructive, though.

Questions and Answers on BioBags from London BIO Packaging:

* Some retailers are confused with the term bio-plastic, as it refers to a type of plastic, which in fact it is not. Is the term protected and only used for compostable, biodegradable vegetable-based starch?

The name ‘bio-plastic’ can be a little confusing! The plastic in the title just refers to the fact that it shares many similar properties with traditional oil-based plastics. Be careful as there is a lot of misleading information and ‘branding’ on the market place. Some plastics claim to be ‘bio-plastics’ and ‘biodegradable’ when they actually still contain oil-based compounds and may degrade but are only broken down into smaller oil-based plastic pieces.

Bio-plastics, such as those used in most of our products, are produced from organic matter and therefore break down/biodegrade back into complete organic matter. There are certain standards you can look out for when sourcing certified compostable plastic products such as EN13432 or ASTM D6400 (however some of the aforementioned oil-based plastics are also certified). Bio-plastics which conform to these standards must break down to a certain particle size within a specified amount of time under commercial composting conditions.

* Is the vegetable starch used for the alternative bags a byproduct or are the plants grown and harvested for the purpose of making the bags?

The starch used in the bio-shopper carrier bags is non genetically-modified starch and is a byproduct of the agricultural industry.

* How long is the shelf life of the bags -- according to one shopkeeper we contacted, the bags start decomposing while still in stock (within a few months). Could a shopkeeper place an order for say 10.000 bags and then get them delivered in 3 or 4 separate deliveries to avoid such a problem (should it exist)?

As long as the bags are stored in a cool, dry place then the shelf life of the bags is guaranteed for 12 months. If your retailers have any concerns we can certainly take bulk orders and then deliver the bags over several deliveries.

* Would the half-pint cups be suitable for a dairy company? How long does it take for the cups to biodegrade with a product like yoghurt in it? Do any health and safety regulations apply for food companies or retailers (like our fish & chips shops) who are willing to use the starch-based cups, containers, sandwich wedgers etc.

I don’t see any reason why the half pint cups would not be suitable for a dairy company. The cups should not biodegrade with yoghurt in them – only when placed under the necessary composting conditions. All of our packaging items are Food Grade Safe.

* The number 7 designation for plastic on the bottom of the cups confuses retailers as it is known for the
various combinations of the aforementioned plastics or from unique plastic formulations not commonly used. Usually imprinted with a number 7 or nothing at all, these plastics are the most difficult to recycle and, as such, are seldom collected or recycled. More ambitious consumers can feel free to return such items to the product manufacturers to avoid contributing to the local waste stream, and instead put the burden on the makers to recycle or dispose of the items properly.
From your website we gather that in fact compostable and biodegradable vegetable starch products are given the same number as the plastics mentioned above. Is that correct?

The number 7 designation is one of the groups which forms the Plastic Identification Code – PIC. This indicates the polymer type to help recycling companies when separating different plastics for recycling. Group number 7 is generally used for all ‘other’ plastics which don’t fall into the preceding 6 groups.

Currently the infrastructure to support the recycling of bio-plastics does not exist in the UK. However, as with any new and developing industry, it is only through growth and increasing pressure on government that changes can be made so that more suitable infrastructure can be established – either by introducing the capacity to recycle bio-plastics or by increasing the number of industrial composting facilities.

All we can say is thank you to London BIO Packaging for this information, and Let's put the pressure on to make sure these recycling facilities are soon put into place.

Honour where honour is due...

2012-01-11T12:24:00.000Z

Hello again

It is a pleasure to see more and more shops in Oban making the move away from handing plastic carrier bags out to customers unasked and for free.

Roz Savage – what a woman!

2012-01-11T12:15:00.001Z

No comment needed, just watch this:

Transform plastic junk into jewellery – or a high-rise greenhouse

2010-10-21T17:38:00.000+01:00

A clip on the BBC News page has just alerted me to the fact that Ars Electronica in Linz, Austria, had an exciting exhibition showing what can be done with waste plastic:
“Repair” constituted the focal point at this year's Ars Electronica Festival, September 2-11, 2010, chiefly held at Tabakfabrik Linz.
What grabbed my imagination most strongly was a few seconds of window farming. For more on this, go to
http://www.windowfarms.org/

Making Oil Out Of Plastic

2010-09-15T11:44:00.001+01:00

Hi there

Does anyone out there know how far we have come in adopting processes of making energy out of our mountains of plastic waste?

Here's a video clip (from 2007) demonstrating how a company called Blest transforms waste plastic into fuel (sadly, something goes wrong with the sound about two thirds into the clip):

And here's another clip (from 2008) demonstrating pellets made from recycled plastic, cooking oil, wood chips and other materials. The product is designed to insulate the industry from volatile fossil fuel prices. The company (repla) claims that their PWF pellets can supply almost the same energy yield at half the going rate:

See also http://article.wn.com/view/WNAT2083CAEE60FA53F650758E687938BB1D/

Throwaway decline – last year ten percent fewer plastic bags were used in the UK

2010-09-10T15:46:00.000+01:00

Your blogger hopes that the Guardian will have no objections to her quoting their snippet of fairly good news. However, let's also focus on the fact that, according to the item, we still use (= waste) 6.1 billion – six-point-one billion – plastic carrier bags each year.

There IS a better way to get our shopping home: re-using bags, using wicker baskets, jute bags, or cotton bags sewn from leftover material (see Morsbags on how to do that).

Use your imagination, don't use a plastic bag!

Here's the Guardian snippet:

"Throwaway decline
"Future archaeologists will no doubt shake their heads at the vast numbers of plastic carrier bags we use and then chuck away to rot, very very slowly, on landfill tips. But we are getting better: over the past four years we have cut our use of the wretched things by 43%.
"Last year alone we used 10% fewer bags. The bad news is that we are still filling up 6.1bn a year. The campaign group Waste Watch says if the switch to reusable bags slows down, it will call for a bag tax.
Carrier bags are a favourite target for anti-waste activists, but they have even bigger, more polluting, targets in their sights. The latest include throwaway razors and single-use picnic plates and cutlery."

Oh yes: anything made of plastic needs to disappear from the shelves in our shops and supermarkets that is designed to be used just the once. Your blogger is radical in this regard, and reuses and recycles fruit and vegetable punnets to grow seeds in or to carry harvests of brambles about to share with friends. She even carefully washes out plastic goblets to reuse on another occasion.

PS:
Waste Watch are "a practical charity inspiring and helping individuals, communities and organisations to waste less.
Working together, [WW] aim to change the way we live and the way we produce, buy, use and dispose of things."

An urban myth: bottled water hazard, heated plastic releases dioxin

2010-08-19T00:02:00.000+01:00

Hi there

Have you recently received a message warning you not to drink water from a plastic bottle that has been "cooked" in your car? Because Sheryl Crow is reported to have said on the Ellen Show that she contracted breast cancer from drinking such water.

Well, no matter how often this claim is repeated, it doesn't get any truer. Chemically, PE bottles cannot possibly create dioxin, because there is no way polyethylene combined with heat and fat can result in dioxin. And freezing water in a plastic bottle will not release harmful chemicals into the water, quite the opposite.

Please take the time to download the magazine (for free) published by the American Council on Science and Health in this link: http://www.acsh.org/news/newsID.1669/news_detail.asp
You will see that it was first published on 14th January 2008 (!)

Here's the comment by Dr. Michael Kamrin:
"While it is true that some chemicals may leach out of plastics in very tiny amounts, these chemicals have been carefully studied and do not cause cancer even when animals are exposed to them in very large amounts. This conclusion is supported by scientists around the world and is reflected in the confidence that regulatory agencies have in the safety of using plastics in containers and wraps for food and drink. — Dr. Kamrin"

If you feel the American Council on Science and Health may be infiltrated by the food or plastics industry, or that testing methods just aren't good enough yet, see what Snopes.com has to say on the same subject. This is an excellent source of all kinds of knowledge, usually great debunkers of urban myths: http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/cookplastic.asp
Incidentally, this link will tell you the long and sorry history of this particular urban myth. Have fun!

The long and the short of this all is: there are indeed different kinds of plastic; don't use the wrong kind for the wrong purpose. In other words, it may be wise not to drink water from a plastic bottle that has been rolling around and lying around in a car left to "cook" in the hot sun for hours, not least because the water will taste horrible.

Festival of the Sea: Beach Clean in Oban with GRAB

2010-05-25T11:39:00.000+01:00

In the context of SAMS' Festival of the Sea, GRAB Trust's Caroline Askew and several helpers participated in a Beach Clean at Oban Harbour on 24th May.

Have a green Christmas

2009-11-26T18:00:00.007Z

Achaleven Primary School in Connel, Argyll, have been promoting green, sustainable, package and rubbish-reduced living.

Last Tuesday, 24 November, the school put on a coffee evening themed Have a green Christmas.

The children sold eco-friendly bags and cards as well as gifts to promote their eco work. Head Teacher Sharon Burt and her team put on a fantastic spread of baking; there were also a lucky dip and a raffle with great prizes.

Despite really horrible weather, the room was packed with parents and friends.

All money raised will be put towards further developing the school's garden.

Sustainable Oban / Oban Plastic Bag Free! were happy to be present with displays promoting the two organisations. Thank you for your hospitality, Achaleven.

Our Petition to the Scottish Government: Ban plastic carrier bags throughout Scotland...

2009-11-19T10:00:00.004Z

Dear All

At long last our Petition has gone out to the Scottish Government. Oban Plastic Bag Free! sent 87 signatures to Mr Jim Mather, MSP for Argyll & Bute and Minister for Enterprise, Energy & Tourism, with the following covering letter, demanding the ban of plastic carrier bags throughout Scotland and serious action against plastic packaging in general:

17th November 2009

Mr Jim Mather MSP for Argyll & Bute
Minister for Enterprise, Energy & Tourism
31, Combie Street
Oban, Argyll, PA34 5HS

Petition to the Scottish Government to ban plastic carrier bags in Scotland and take serious action against plastic packaging in general

Dear Mr Mather

As Minister for Enterprise, Energy & Tourism it must matter to you that our environment be as clean and healthy as possible. Plastic bags and plastic waste are a blight on our environment. Small plastic particles attract toxins and enter the food chain via marine and land-based creatures. It was recently reported "that human hormone-mimicking phthalates commonly found in PVC plastics would appear to alter the brains of baby boys making them 'more feminine'"; they are known to have a serious impact on male fertility.
In view of your past positive responses to messages from Sustainable Oban and the Oban Plastic Bag Free! Initiative, I am taking the liberty of passing on to you a total of 87 signatures to a Petition to the Scottish Government to ban plastic carrier bags in Scotland and take serious action against plastic packaging in general.
We will appreciate it if you will kindly forward this petition to the Scottish Government in Edinburgh. We will appreciate it even more if you will defend this petition and help us push it through into legislation.
With many thanks and best wishes
[signature]
Margaret Powell-Joss
[co-initiator of OPBF! and Secretary, Sustainable Oban]

Enclosures

Copy to The Editor, The Oban Times, Oban

*) International Journal of Andrology, quoted in
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8361863.stm, see also http://obanplasticbagfree.blogspot.com/

Of course now we look forward to getting results.

The Story of Stuff -- Sunday, 29th November 2009, Benderloch, Argyll, Scotland

2009-11-16T13:29:00.004Z

Dear All

On Sunday, 29th November, 2009, an extremely instructive and entertaining cartoon documentary will be shown at 7pm at the Victory Hall in Benderloch, Argyll.
Admission free -- donations welcome.

The Story of Stuff

What it's about:
"From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever." (from the Story of Stuff website)

Following on to watching this short video together, we will have a discussion and a "freecycle"-inspired STUFF SWAP. So, please bring something that you've long been wanting to get rid of and swap it for something someone else may bring and that you would like to have.

Mairi Stones and friends, as well as Sustainable Oban, look forward to seeing you there.

Let's get rid of plastic -- it's toxic in many ways

2009-11-16T13:08:00.005Z

Dear all

The showing of a documentary at Benderloch's Victory Hall yesterday evening once again underscored our extreme dependency on oil for everything - from fuel to petrol to plastic to cosmetics and much, much more. We need to get rid of plastic. It is not only a blight on our landscapes and endangers sea-dwelling creatures, it has also slowly been poisoning the food chain and the human body.

Quite by chance I just found more evidence for the latter. Read the following article, which underscores how little we know about the effects of the oil-based synthetics we have been producing and using for the past approximately 60 years. It would appear that phthalates cause disruption of male reproductive health and affect male behaviour. We are constantly exposed to these chemicals through our use of plastic.

Let's get rid of plastic, or at least reduce our use.

Toxins in plastic 'feminise boys'

Chemicals in plastics alter the brains of baby boys making them "more feminine", say US researchers.

[Page last updated at 10:23 GMT, Monday, 16 November 2009]

Males exposed to high doses in the womb went on to be less likely to play with boys' toys like cars or to join in rough and tumble games, they found.

The University of Rochester team's latest work adds to concerns about the safety of phthalates, found in vinyl flooring and PVC shower curtains. The findings are reported in the International Journal of Andrology.

Plastic furniture

Phthalates have the ability to disrupt hormones, and have been banned in toys in the EU for some years. However, they are still widely used in many different household items, including plastic furniture and packaging.

There are many different types and some mimic the female hormone oestrogen.

The feminising capacity of phthalates makes them true 'gender benders'
E. Salter-Green, director of CHEM Trust

The same researchers have already shown that this can mean boys are born with genital abnormalities.

Now they say certain phthalates also impact on the developing brain, by knocking out the action of the male hormone testosterone.

Dr Shanna Swan and her team tested urine samples from mothers over midway through pregnancy for traces of phthalates. The women, who gave birth to 74 boys and 71 girls, were followed up when their children were aged four to seven and asked about the toys the youngsters played with and the games they enjoyed.

Girls' play

They found that two phthalates DEHP and DBP can affect play behaviour. Boys exposed to high levels of these in the womb were less likely than other boys to play with cars, trains and guns or engage in "rougher" games like playfighting.

Elizabeth Salter-Green, director of the chemicals campaign group CHEM Trust, said the results were worrying.
"We now know that phthalates, to which we are all constantly exposed, are extremely worrying from a health perspective, leading to disruption of male reproduction health and, it appears, male behaviour too. This feminising capacity of phthalates makes them true 'gender benders'."

[Elizabeth Salter-Green] acknowledged that the boys who have been studied were still young, but she said reduced masculine play at this age might lead to other feminised developments in later life.

But Tim Edgar, of the European Council for Plasticisers and Intermediates, said: "We need to get some scientific experts to look at this study in more detail before we can make a proper judgement."
He said there were many different phthalates in use and the study concerned two of the less commonly used types that were on the EU candidate list as potentially hazardous and needing authorisation for use.

DBP has been banned from use in cosmetics, such as nail varnish, since 2005 in the EU.

PHTHALATES
There are many different types.
The most commonly used are deemed entirely safe by regulators [MPJs emphasis].
[Potentially hazardous phthalates needing authorisation for use:]
DEHP - used to make PVC soft and pliable and used in products like flooring
DBP - used as a plasticiser in glues, dyes and textiles

For the original article, please go to http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8361863.stm

*****

My own two cents, to be taken with a pinch of salt:
The world might be a better place if males were a bit more feminised and less testosterone were coursing through their veins...

Plastic litter on UK beaches

2009-11-14T18:49:00.001Z

Dear all

44.30 minutes into Autumnwatch 2009, Episode 7, Chris Packham and Kate Humble confirm what Oban Plastic Bag Free! have been clamouring for: abolish plastic bags, and significantly reduce the use of plastic in general.

Chris Packham: "We think that 100,000 mammals die every year because they are ensnared by pieces of plastic. And those are just those the ones we find on the beach. Imagine how many more there are out at sea!"

It is said that the average fulmar has got 30 pieces of plastic inside it.

Kate Humble: "As plastic breaks down it becomes the size of plankton and enters the food chain."

To watch the programme, go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00ny9ct – you have 13 days left to watch, i.e. approx. until 26 November 2009.

The Marine and Coastal Access Act

2009-11-14T18:17:00.006Z

Dear all

As you may have heard, the new Marine Bill was very recently given Royal assent and became the UK Marine and Coastal Access Act. It is a fantastic opportunity for everyone on these islands to become more familiar with the coast and the marine environment beyond.

What we now need is a strong Scottish Marine Bill
We would like to join the Marine Conservation Society in their call for action:
As the Marine (Scotland) Bill enters a crucial phase in the Scottish Parliament, please take one action to let your MSP know how important it is that the Bill delivers real protection and recovery for Scotland’s seas: click here -- there is still just time, but please hurry!

What the UK Marine and Coastal Access Act can do, in the words of TV presenter Nicholas Crane:
"[…] Since the Land Reform (Scotland) Act of 1973, the view from the Inaccessible Pinnacle has embraced the land of the free-spirited; a landscape that is not blocked with barbed wire and Keep Out signs. In Scotland, there is a statutory right of responsible access over most areas of open countryside; a right to roam over much of the country’s moorland, mountains, forests, farmlands, riverbanks and coast. The Scots have a history of enlightenment.
"Thirty-six years after the Act received Royal Assent, the Scottish countryside has not been trashed by millions of vandals wearing bobble hats. Open access has brought tourism and a greater understanding of country needs. Everything I’ve learnt about the management of deer herds and salmon – and their contribution to local economies – has been gleaned during chance encounters with gamekeepers and ghillies whose estates I can cross without trepidation. Scotland has put its people back in touch with the land. And that, as we career into an era of accelerated environmental change, can only be a good thing.
"South of the border, we’re playing catch-up, but the Marine and Coastal Access Act, which became law on Thursday, is a historic breakthrough. The creation of a continuous, coastal access zone, and the protection of our marine habitats, will help us to see that we belong to a global biosphere. Part of that imaginative leap is the rediscovery of our status as islanders, with a responsibility for our own shores and coastal waters.
[…]
"But the Marine Act is much more than a walkers’ charter. Stand on any beach or cliff-top, turn to the sea’s horizon, and you will be gazing across the most important – and least visible – habitat on earth. Half of the UK’s biodiversity lives in our coastal waters, but rising sea temperatures, acidification, bottom-trawling, overfishing, sewage, garbage and a host of ugly threats are exacting a fearful toll. In UK waters, 22 species of wildlife are facing the threat of global extinction. The Marine Conservation Society regard the new Act as “a milestone”, which they hope will lead to the creation of 73 marine conservation zones intended to protect a range of species from cold-water corals to sea horses and basking sharks. […]"
[[By Nicholas Crane, published: 7:00AM GMT 14 Nov 2009, in the Telegraph]]

For the full text and some beautiful photos, please go to http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/6563864/Marine-and-Coastal-Access-Act-our-coast-is-now-a-treasure-to-share.html

A success story from Appin, Argyll

2009-10-01T11:02:00.004+01:00

Your blogger has just been told that Appin has been very successful in its struggle against plastic bags.

According to GP (ret.) Dr. Ian McNicoll of the Appin Community Cooperative, the Appin Community Cooperative shop*) started charging 5p for their plastic carrier bags on 1st May 2008.

Prior to that date they gave the bags away for free, to the tune of 50,000 bags a year, which cost the shop £1,000.
Since May 2008, consumption has dropped to less than 5,000 bags a year and the shop has made a profit on the bags it has sold. It is a profit that goes straight back into the community, for example towards an expensive off-premises alcohol license, without which the shop would find it difficult to survive.
Dr. McNicoll told your blogger that there were some objections from customers initially but only for a few weeks.

It is another example of a shop making a big difference by taking what may initially be perceived as an unpopular step.

Way to go, Appin!

*) for a photo of the shop, please click on the link http://www.camuscross.org/index.asp?pageid=79595 and scroll down a bit.

Follow-up on Biodegradable plastic bags – an enquiry

2009-09-12T12:55:00.008+01:00

Dear All

Today is UK Plastic Bag Free Day!

You will remember my post of Tuesday, 18 August 2009, entitled "Biodegradable plastic bags – the start of an enquiry", in which I informed you that Sustainable Oban wrote to find out a bit more about Tesco's free biodegradable plastic carrier bags.
Well, here's the answer received yesterday from Tesco Customer Service Centre, Baird Avenue, Dundee DD2 3TN (Ref. 9352035/KS):

"Thank you for contacting us with your enquiry about free carrier bags from our Oban store.
"From looking at our data our store at Oban has reduced the number of carrier bags by a total of 3.5 million since our May 2006 base line – and 1.88m year to date for this financial year.
"We haven't been told or involved in the UK plastic bag free day, so unfortunately it won't be supported by Tesco.
"We have recently changed all our carrier bags from degradable to biodegradable.
"What this means in essence is that we have introduced a different additive into the structure of the bag that will degrade the plastic pretty rapidly – it will become unusable after a year or so. This additive will also degrade the plastic bag down into smaller particles than before.
"This is a two stage process. The plastic degrades over a period of three years into very small particles, which are then ingested by the microbes in the land fill which further degrade the products into their constituent parts; this is biodegradation.
"When the bags were only degradable then they did not degrade down into small enough particles for this microbial action to take place. The carbon chains were just too long. With the new additive the microbial action can now take place, hence the bags are now biodegradable."
"Thanks for taking time to contact us. I hope this information has been helpful.
"Yours sincerely
[signed L Graham]
"For and on behalf of Tesco Stores Ltd
"Lynsey Graham
"Customer Service Manager"

While Tesco's answer is appreciated, please note that their letter does not state the number of free biodegradable plastic bags they still hand out at their Oban store alone. It must be huge if they've managed to reduce the number by almost 2 million bags in this financial year alone! The mind boggles at the number of free bags taken home (and thrown into landfill) by each resident of and visitor to the Oban area.

Please leave your comments on this post.

Yours truly is now off to find out what can be done with SPE (plastic) punnets from the berries and soft fruit we like to eat at this time of year. Over only the past six weeks, an impressive stack of them has accumulated in this one-person household. How do you deal with them?
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, and I'll keep you posted.

Reusable nets and bags -- sizes, materials

2009-09-07T09:35:00.004+01:00

Hiya all

Just as I expected, Debbie Soutar has been back to me with some answers to the questions I raised in an e-mail to her yesterday, and in my post about her reusable nets and bags. So, here is Debbie's input on size and source of materials, just in:

*****

Good Morning Margaret

Thank you for replying and I hope I can help with your questions. Thank you also for the suggestion re sizing on the web site. We will look to incorporate this next time we are getting amendments done.

The size of the nets with ...take5nets is 14" long x 12" wide. They are on a drawsting and toggle lock to close. All seams are double sewn for extra strength. They really do take a lot of veg and fruit. They are very very popular. We sell into farm shops, food halls, stately homes as well as over the internet. I am afraid we cannot afford to take on the supermarkets, so hope people buy from us and then use them in the supermarkets.

Regarding sourcing. We have tried our hardest. Our first thought was that they had to be reusable and therefore durable. We also wanted them to be animal free (no silk content). We managed to get some of the cloth to be recycled product but toggles we cannot guarantee. With the outer bags for ...take5bags and ...take5again we cannot guarantee recycled but we know there is an element (approx 25%) of recycled. The net is knitted. A lot of net product we saw was too harsh or heavy to have next to fruit. We also had to get food contact approval so the material had to match the criteria for this area. All in all, despite the odd compromise, we feel the nets (our most popular product) certainly stop the use of one-use bags for fruit and veg (and that includes paper which destroys our trees).

We need activities and people like yourselves to spread the word. Your initiative for the 'bag free day' is super.

Kind regards

Debbie Soutar

PS: I am the Director of the Company and a founder member, but we are a team of 5; Penny Halliwell, a co-Director, was the 'ideas' person behind this venture.

again & a-gain ltd
Registered office: Eastfield, Backlatch, Ceres,
Fife KY15 5NT
Company registered in Scotland: SC331769

*****

I think I will place an order soon and see what those bags are like. Sadly, biodegradable and reusable don't go together very well, for quite obvious reasons.

Have a wonderful, plastic-bag free day!

Interesting Scottish source of reusable bags - an alternative to the thin PE/HDPE bags in which we wrap fruit, veg, bulk-bought cereals etc.?

2009-09-06T14:25:00.008+01:00

Hello all

Deborah Soutar, the founder of Again-and-a-Gain Ltd based in Ceres, Fife, sent in this comment, which I'm happy to share as a separate post:

"Have you heard of the web site www.againanda-gain.com? It has a series of reusable nets and bags that are meant for fruit and veg but are great for anything from golf balls to hairbrushes to general tidies...
Certainly help on the eradication of the one-use bags."

According to Debbie's website, "the …take5TM range of nets and bags offers a viable alternatives for the single use, thin HDPE bag or paper bag offered free at fruit and vegetable counters."

Definitely worth a visit. The bags look attractive, the prices seem ok, the idea is certainly an excellent one. My only gripe is that the descriptions of the bags don't come with any measurements so it's hard to tell just how big individual bags and nets are. And I would have liked to find some information on what actually goes into these nets and bags.

Thank you in anticipation, Debbie, for your comment. :)

Biodegradable plastic bags - the start of an enquiry

2009-08-18T13:39:00.003+01:00

Dear All

You may be interested to know that Sustainable Oban have just sent off a letter to find out a bit more about Tesco's free biodegradable plastic carrier bags.

Here's the letter:

Tesco Customer Service
PO Box 73
Baird Avenue
Dryburgh Industrial Estate
Dundee
DD1 9NF

Dear Madam, dear Sir

Re: "Biodegradable" plastic carrier bags from Tesco Stores

In view of the upcoming UK PLASTIC-BAG FREE DAY on 12th September, we have noted with interest that Tesco Oban now give away "biodegradable" plastic bags.

Some of our members would be most interested to know a little more about the source and composition of these plastic bags.

We would also be interested to know whether Tesco Oban have managed to bring down the use of free plastic bags over the past year or so, and if so, by how much. It is our personal impression that the environs of Tesco Oban continue to be blighted by plastic refuse, either tossed away by customers or strewn about because the bins placed in various spots on the car park are not wind or gull proof.

Looking forward to receiving your comments, we remain
yours sincerely

Margaret Powell-Joss, Secretary

PS: This letter will also be posted on http://obanplasticbagfree.blogspot.com, where we will be happy to post your reply upon receipt.

Spread the word: one Oban shop has donated generously to charity

2009-08-12T13:24:00.000+01:00

I would like to share this feedback received on 11th August from Gwyneth Neal at House & Home Oban. Very many thanks, Gwyneth, and congratulations on your imaginative scheme and generosity!

Dear Margaret
At House and Home in Oban we've been discouraging the use of plastic bags for almost
eighteen months. We always ask "Do you need a bag?" and never just hand out bags.
We also placed a charge of 10p on plastic carriers.
We don't keep the money but have a local charity nominated every month and leave a jar
on the counters to collect the money. We have given over £700 to various local charities, reduced our plastic usage by a half (to the point that the Edinburgh company we bought from has closed) and all in all feel we are doing our bit towards the environment.
We've been shouted at by regular customers who feel we've a cheek to charge for bags and
accused of trying to increase our profit with the charge but in the main most people are
willing to pay and we've found that more and more folk are coming in with their own bags.
Eighteen months has seen big changes. It would be good if all the shops did the same!
Regards
Gwyneth

12th September is fast approaching. Here's what YOU can do

2009-08-11T12:01:00.003+01:00

Hello there

As you may know, 12th September is UK Plastic-Bag Free Day. May I suggest that each and every one of you respectfully ask at least one shopkeeper in your town not to give out any plastic bags on that day? You can do so by speaking to the shopkeeper, or by sending them a politely-worded letter, like this (please feel free to adapt). Very many thanks for your support.

(Sender's address)
(Date)

(Shopkeeper's name and address)

12th September 2009 is UK Plastic-Bag Free Day

Dear Madam, dear Sir
[better still: Dear (your shopkeeper's first name)]

As one of your regular customers and as someone who is interested in sustainable living and caring for our environment, I would like to ask you

not to give out any free "disposable" plastic bags on
Saturday, 12th September 2009.

Although the number of bags given out by Scottish supermarkets has been halved over the last three years, the UK is still among the countries with the highest consumption of "disposable" plastic bags. Such bags are not usually biodegradable and, when thrown away, blight the environment and maim and kill our birds and wildlife, especially sea creatures such as turtles, seals and dolphins. It is perhaps a less well-known fact that plastic detritus accumulates toxins which, when ingested by sea creatures, slowly make their way up the food chain. When they end up in the human body, they have all kinds of negative effects, not least on human fertility.

Thank you for helping us make the UK a plastic-bag free country.

Yours sincerely
(Your signature and name)

PS: For more information, visit http://obanplasticbagfree.blogspot.com/

BBC News: Supermarkets in Scotland cut bag use by nearly 50% in last 3 years

2009-07-16T02:16:00.003+01:00

Hello

It's quite an impressive piece of brand-new news that I have just stumbled across:

"Supermarkets cut bag use by 50%
The number of plastic bags given to customers by Scottish supermarkets has almost halved in the last three years."

I quote further from the BBC page, which also has some impressive photos and is well worth visiting:

***
The number of plastic bags given to customers by Scottish supermarkets has almost halved in the last three years.

Seven supermarkets signed up to the voluntary Scottish Government scheme which aimed to reduce the number of bags given out by 50%.

This led to the equivalent of nearly 39 million fewer bags being used in May 2009 compared with May 2006 - a 49.4% reduction - new figures showed.

A similar scheme was later adopted across the whole of the UK.

The figures released by the Scottish Government and British Retail Consortium (BRC) showed the reduction in the number of bags handed out by Asda, the Co-operative Group, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury's, Somerfield, Tesco and Waitrose in Scotland over the past three years.

[…]

*****

Mind you, the Oban cityscape is still blighted by far too many plastic bags strewn all over the place. So let's not get too smug, ok.

High time to talk rubbish

2009-07-14T20:23:00.001+01:00

I just came across this item on the BBC Science page:

"It is time to start talking rubbish
A range of measures - some more popular than others - are needed if the UK is going to get on top of its waste problem."

I've long been shocked that huge amounts of waste go to landfill sites in this country. According to reliable sources, about six large lorries a day travel from Oban-Moleigh to Lochgilphead because the Oban landfill site is full. What a waste in every sense of the word!!!

***

Burying our rubbish in huge pits in the ground is no longer an option in the 21st Century, says Stuart Wardlaw. In this week's Green Room, he argues that a range of measures - some more popular than others - is needed if the UK is going to get on top of its waste problem.

Our consumer culture does nothing to help our overflowing landfills

Research reveals that Britain is still considered the "dustbin of Europe" because it is still dumping more household waste into landfill than any other EU nation.

It threw away a staggering 22.6 million tonnes of rubbish in 2004/5; in fact, Britain sent the same amount to landfill as the 18 EU countries with the lowest landfill rates combined, despite these places having twice the population of the UK.

Britain's failure to invest in the more sustainable waste management practices based on the three Rs - re-use, recycle and recovery - has lead to an excessive dependence on landfill.

But these days are fast disappearing.

Planning and environmental permitting of landfills has been made significantly tougher with the aim of better controlling their environmental impacts.

However, this has substantially reduced the availability of suitable sites. If you compare this to our disproportionately large population to land mass ratio then, put simply, we are running out of space to dump our waste.

As a result, we may face a landfill shortage within the decade, according to the Local Government Association.

[…]

*****

Surfers Against Sewage Petition No. 10 to Implement Marine Litter Strategy

2009-06-20T20:48:00.000+01:00

Hiya again

In a roundabout fashion, I happened on the following petition submitted to No. 10 Downing Street, i.e. Britain's Prime Minister, to Implement a Marine Litter Strategy and assign a suitable and credible body to tackle this worsening problem.

Your Oban Plastic Bag Free! blogger would like to encourage you to join the crowds and sign the petition on-line. It's painless and quick, and may make a difference eventually.

Deadline to sign up by: 01 March 2010

From the Petitioner's explanations:

"Volumes of marine litter are dramatically increasing year after year. Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) has successful marine litter campaigns targeting manufacturers, mobilising large-scale grass roots direct action and increasing public awareness on this ever-worsening problem. However, with each new high tide comes a new marine litter line impacting on our beloved beaches and surf spots.

"Current anti-litter legislation such as The Environmental Protection Act 1990, MARPOL and the Port Waste Reception Facilities regulations are not providing the levels of protection needed for the coastline.

"SAS believe that marine litter is coming from a wide variety of sources, including; beach users, sanitary related debris, industry, and fishing. SAS and other environmental NGOs have found that almost 70% of this litter is plastic. Plastics have a devastating impact on the marine environment over a long period, as well as economic impacts on local communities and the fishing industry.

"As an SAS supporter, I urge you to implement a National Marine Litter Strategy to combat this worsening issue and help protect our coastlines."

More and more reusable bags, fewer and fewer plastic bags

2009-06-17T11:21:00.005+01:00

Hello again

It is heartening to see many, many more customers than even just a year ago bringing their own bags to do their shopping. Of course, until only just a few decades ago, that was the norm. How quickly we forget!

It is equally heartening to see more and more shops handing out fewer and fewer plastic bags, and turning to recyclable and/or fully biodegradable options in those cases where well-packaged goods require another layer, or customers did not bring their own bags.

And it is encouraging to notice how many shops charge for the bags they do hand out. Many of them do not use the money to pay for their overheads but donate it to a charity of their choice -- and we all know how charities and NGOs have suffered in this horrendous economic "downturn".

Nonetheless, a lot of plastic (and other) rubbish still blights the streets and shrubberies, garden fences, trees and vacant lots of Oban and its environs.

Please help keep Oban tidy. Sign the No More Trash

Litter Pledge:

I promise to do my part to make and keep Oban litter free.
I promise to keep my house, my garden and my town clean and free of trash.
I will throw my trash away and pick up trash when I see it.
I will tell my family and friends about No More Trash!

A suggestion for teachers: Adapt the pledge for your classroom.

A suggestion for the Council: Follow the example of Colchester Borough Council and erect anti-littering signs at gateways into Oban to prevent people from dropping their unwanted rubbish.

Guardian Weekly: 'Sailing Through a Sea of Plastic'

2009-06-09T12:27:00.003+01:00

Young seagull in Oban Harbour, summer 2008 (Photo: MPJ)
Hiya
Another account of the devastating effects of our wasteful lifestyles, from the Guardian Weekly, published on Monday June 8th 2009:

'Sailing through a sea of plastic'

Three years ago, environmental activist Josh Berry was on a sailing trip from California to Hawaii when he encountered the Pacific Trash Vortex – a huge patch of ocean-borne garbage thought to be twice the size of Texas. On UN World Oceans Day, he describes the sight of man-made garbage floating for miles on end and why he devotes his time to ocean conservation.

Read the article -- it is well worth it. It may help you talk to people when you see them toss rubbish away. Help us remove plastic packaging, which is a major contributor to the blight on our landscape and our seas.

When you shop, insist on fully biodegradable packaging. There are sustainable, biodegradable, locally sourced alternatives out there.

Biodegradable alternatives to the ubiquitous "disposable" plastic bag. (Photo: MPJ, summer 2008)

http://www.biobags4u.co.uk
http://www.biodegradablebag.co.uk

Thank you.

Is this the publicity shops want?

2009-05-13T20:58:00.000+01:00

Oban shops have been phasing out plastic bags. More and more, check-out staff ask customers, "Do you really need a bag?", rather than just handing me one for free. Elsewhere, a notice on the counter states that the shop will be happy to hand out bags, but will charge 5p or 10p for each bag. Way to go!

(Photo by MPJ, April 2009; cyclepath from Ganavan to Dunbeg)

But there are still far too many cheap plastic bags in circulation. Is this (above) really what shop owners want customers to see? When I see sights like this plastic bag lying by the wayside, I think of where it may well end up and what harm it may do there:

(Photo off the web)

There really is no excuse any more, as there are sufficient numbers of alternatives available, such as cornstarch bags:

(Photo by MPJ, April 2009)

They cost more, that's true, but only because cheap plastic bags do not reflect the true cost of their removal from the environment.

A PBF U.K. Mission Statement

2009-04-09T12:50:00.003+01:00

Dear All

Your Oban Plastic Bag Free! blogger takes pleasure in posting here the contents of a PBF U.K. Mission Statement. It is a great idea for forming a Plastic Bag Free Forum to target the U.K. Government.

****
No, not a dream but reality within 2 years:
The reason for the Forum is that it will have a direct involvement with the government's Environment Committee, chaired by Hilary Benn and it will serve as the ‘eyes and ears’ of the PBF world in the UK.

Action not words.
Rebecca Hosking from Modbury and Sue Kinsey at MCS agree with me that this is the next, obvious step to take. The PBF U.K Forum will comprise of representatives from every area aiming to go plastic bag free or a representative for a group of communities. Elected by the groups doing the actual work in their locality, the
representatives will have the knowledge and support of their local community.
The Forum aims to build on, and work in conjunction with, the excellent work being done by other groups such as the Google plastic bag free forum.
The Forum will know, from its members, the situation in each area and be able to produce facts and figures for the government’s Environment Committee. I’ve been assured that this group will be listened to from contacts in London and by a direct exchange from those working with [the] Environment Committee.

One voice:
There are various plastic bag free sites such as ‘Abolish Plastic Bags’ and the Google forum site and I want to bring all these groups together. I am contacting all those people responsible for these kinds of websites across the UK as it is better to have a strong, coherent and factual voice, all under one umbrella that will be accepted as an authority on PBF for the UK.

Tony Langham.
01722-328847
grandadforest [AT] btinternet.com
*****
Please leave a comment on this blog and/or enter Tony's e-mail address manually if you wish to contact him to express your support of his idea.

Reducing plastic bags: new figures show efforts by retailers and consumers deliver results

2009-03-28T08:35:00.001Z

Hello All

I'm very pleased to focus on a bit of fairly good news today, which is that our efforts to curb the use of plastic bags is having an effect. WRAP (www.wrap.org.uk) published this announcement in February 2009:

Retailers exceed carrier bag reduction target

26 February 2009

New figures show efforts by retailers and consumers delivering results

New figures released today by WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) [1] show the UK’s leading high street and grocery retailers have exceeded a voluntary target to reduce the environmental impact of carrier bags by 25% by the end of 2008.

Since 2006, retailers have delivered a 40% reduction in the environmental impact of carrier bags, as measured by the reduction in the amount of virgin plastic used. [2] Retailers have achieved this by reducing the number of carrier bags issued by 26%, increasing recycled content used and reducing carrier bag weight. [3]

The target to reduce the environmental impact of carrier bags was part of an agreement with UK Governments and industry in February 2007 which has been met in full by a reduction in bag numbers alone.

This achievement also reflects the active engagement of consumers, who have helped to make it happen.

Dr Liz Goodwin, WRAP CEO said:

“Consumers deserve congratulations for these results as they clearly show we are moving away from using bags once to re-using bags often. They are also a credit to retailers who have worked hard to find innovative ways of helping us re-use our bags.”

Over the past two years, WRAP has been collecting data and monitoring initiatives by retailers that help reduce the environmental impact of carrier bags including encouraging re-use through reward schemes, promoting bags for life and charging for bags.

The data shows that initiatives by retailers [4] to reduce the environmental impact of carrier bags have resulted in a 23,000 tonne reduction in the weight of carrier bags issued. The total number of bags in circulation has reduced from 13.4 billion in 2006 to 9.9 billion in 2008, equivalent to a 26% reduction.

Jane Milne from the BRC [British Retail Consortium, 5] said;

“Congratulations to all our customers and check-out colleagues who have done so much to achieve this result. With this first target met and exceeded we are now working to halve the number of bags taken by May this year. We need every customer to help us by remembering their bags for life on planned shopping trips and, where they do need to take an ordinary carrier bag, re-using it on five or six shopping trips before returning it for recycling. Together we can do it!” [6, 7, 8, 9]

ENDS

Editor's notes:

The agreement was between 21 of the leading high street and grocer retailers and Defra, the then Scottish Executive, Welsh Assembly and Northern Ireland Office. The agreement was actively supported by the Packaging and Film Association (PAFA) via the Carrier Bag Consortium.
WRAP’s role in the agreement is to monitor the progress of the agreement through data collection and analysis. The members of the agreement issue their respective data to WRAP voluntarily. WRAP’s remit from the signatories is to issue the results for carrier bag reduction targets across the industry as a whole and not to release individual retailer data.
The target was a 25% reduction in the environmental impact of carrier bags. This is being measured by looking at a reduction in the number of carrier bags issued and the amount of virgin plastic which provides a simple way to measure environmental impact.
Participating retailers are as follows:
Asda Wal*Mart
Boots
Co-operative Group
Debenhams
DSG International plc (Currys and PC World)
E H Booths & Co Ltd
Home Retail Group (Argos and Homebase)
John Lewis Partnership (John Lewis and Waitrose)
Marks & Spencer
Next Group plc
Nisa Todays
Primark Stores Ltd
Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd
Somerfield Group
Spar (UK) Ltd
Tesco
Travis Perkins (Wickes)
Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc
A further agreement between the Scottish Government and supermarkets has been made. Defra, the Welsh Assembly Government, and the Northern Ireland Department of the Environment have also made an agreement with the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and its supermarket members. Both agreements aim to reduce the number of single use carrier bags issued to consumers by 50% by the end of May 2009. WRAP has agreed to monitor progress against these targets. The participating supermarkets are Asda Wal*Mart, Co-operative Group, Waitrose, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd, Somerfield Group and Tesco.
WRAP works in partnership to encourage and enable businesses and consumers to be more efficient in their use of materials and recycle more things more often. This helps to minimise landfill, reduce carbon emissions and improve our environment.
Established as an independent company in 2000, WRAP is backed by government funding from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Working in seven key areas (Construction, Retail, Manufacturing, Organics, Business Growth, Behavioural Change, and Local Authority Support), WRAP’s work focuses on market development and support to drive forward recycling and materials resource efficiency within these sectors, as well as wider communications and awareness activities including the multi-media national Recycle Now campaign for England.
More information on all of WRAP's programmes can be found on www.wrap.org.uk

Sarah Brown
WRAP - Head of Press & PR
Tel: 01295 819618
sarah.brown@wrap.org.uk

OBAN PLASTIC BAG FREE! SUPPORTS SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT INITIATIVE

2009-03-16T10:55:00.003Z

Dear friends

We feel encouraged by a message just in from the SELKIRK PLASTIC BAG FREE campaign, who have decided to publicly SUPPORT THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT INITIATIVE.

Here is the wording of their message, which deserves to spread far and wide:

"The Selkirk Plastic Bag Free campaign supports the Scottish Government's initiative to help reduce the use of plastic carrier bags. With Scotland using one billion bags a year and our local authorities spending £385 million a year dealing with waste this new campaign to encourage us all to reduce our carrier bag use by 50% is a welcome step in the right direction.
"Changing habits takes time and it's important to remember that changing our use of plastic carrier bags to reusable bags is an ongoing process, but one that is happening. Change is afoot. The Scottish Government claims that research has shown that 92% of people believe that reusing bags is good for the environment yet 59% still forget to take their own bags with them when shopping. But habits are changing.
"Selkirk is a fine example of this. We know that the town is not yet 100% plastic bag free but our traders and townsfolk are working towards that and change is evident. There has been a significant reduction in the use of plastic carrier bags here and a huge increase in the numbers of those using reusable shopping bags. And our surrounding countryside is cleaner and tidier too.
"It is easy to see how campaigns such as these can drift from people's minds but if we keep up the effort, if we keep talking about it and bringing it back into the public domain then we can surely make more of a difference.
"For all those people out there who are making the effort (and the numbers are substantial) we would say 'Keep up the good work. We are making a difference. Change is happening.'

Jenna Agate
Selkirk Plastic Bag Free"

More volunteers would be welcome!

2009-03-13T11:11:00.002Z

Hiya all

Since founding member Astrid left for Stirlingshire, the Oban Plastic Bag Free! initiative has lost some of its energy. We could really use one or two more volunteers to help contacting Oban shops and ensure their support of our initiative.

It would be a question of a couple of afternoons in the run-up to Easter.

Would anyone interested kindly contact info @ sustainable-oban.net, please (this is not a hyperlink -- you will need to copy-paste the address by hand to your outgoing e-mail).

We will be delighted to hear from you!

An Oban shop takes an important first step

2009-01-16T22:07:00.004Z

Hello again

In the run-up to our next public meeting on Friday, January 23, 2009 (Glencruitten Church Hall, Oban, 7 (for 7:15) to approx. 9pm), we would like to highlight an example of an excellent intermediate step taken by one of Oban's prestigious shops:

Ms Ch. Bremner of House and Home was approached with an idea and decided to act on it. This is what she has done: on the counter, her customers can find a donation box and the following notice, reproduced here with Ms Bremner's permission:

Alexander Kilmurray P4,
Eco Committe, Park School
has requested that we should be charging for
Carrier Bags to save Wildlife and the planet.
To comply with this request and encourage the use of
Traditional Shopping Bags and the reuse of Carrier Bags
All Carrier Bags will now incur a charge of 10p each.
All money raised from this will be donated to local charities.
This month's [January 2009] is:
Mary's Meals and Scottish International Relief.
Last month £75.00 was donated to
Oban Christmas Lights Appeal.

Ms Bremner assured your blogger that every month between about £50 and up to £100 have been donated to a local charity.
What a fantastic way of increasing awareness!
Thank you and congratulations, Alexander Kilmurray and Cherren Bremner!

Plasticbag.org.uk - Sustainable Oban Meeting: Jan 23, 2009

2009-01-08T13:36:00.003Z

Hello again

This is a quick reminder that the
next Sustainable Oban meeting at the Glencruitten Church Hall, Oban

Friday, 23 January, 2009, 7 to approx. 9pm

will include an update on our Initiative to get Oban Plastic Bag Free!

Everyone's most welcome!

Finally, your blogger browsed the web in search of facts on the production of plastic bags.

Plasticbag.org.uk -- "the campaign to reduce the effects of plastic bags on our world" -- is a website that may well be worth your visit.

Cheerioh!

One family, one month, 50kg of packaging. Why?

2009-01-06T14:42:00.000Z

Hello again

Searching for facts and figures on the consumption of energy to produce plastic bags, your blogger has come across a fascinating article by Lucy Siegle in The Observer, Sunday 29 January 2006. Its title is

One family, one month, 50kg of packaging. Why?

Well worth your visit -- simply click on the title to be taken to the full article.

Cheerioh!

Oban Plastic Bag Free! on Oban FM radio

2008-12-15T00:40:00.003Z

Oban Plastic Bag Free! is happy to acknowledge being given some excellent airtime on Oban FM radio this Sunday, December 14, 2008, from about 10:30 to 11AM. News editor Coll MacDougall invited Oban Plastic Bag Free! co-facilitator, Margaret Powell-Joss, along to chat with Councillor Roddy McCuish and Adam Hughes, President of the Oban Allotments Association, a sister organisation under the Sustainable Oban umbrella.

In the course of the radio chat, we highlighted the negative consequences of plastic degraded into microparticles that then attract toxins which mimic human hormones -- contributing towards reducing human fertility. We also addressed the issue of plastic pellets and microparticles being ingested by marine organisms and animals -- fish, mammals, birds, whose intestines are filled with plastic rather than food.
For more on this subject, view the video on the Marine Conservation Society website.

Councillor Roddy McCuish expressed his wholehearted endorsement of the Oban Plastic Bag Free! Initiative, asking each and every consumer to re-use bags and to stay away from non-biodegradable plastic. We appreciate his suppport and can only join him in his appeal.

Thank you, Oban FM, for providing this platform -- we will be back on ObanFM after our next meeting on January 23, 2008. More about that in our next post.

Winner of the Oban Plastic Bag Free! Poster Competition

2008-12-12T13:30:00.004Z

The GRAB Trust project worker for Oban, Lorn and the Isles ran a poster competition to help with the Oban Plastic Bag Free Initiative. It was open to all Primary schools in this area. Nine schools participated in three categories – p1-3, P4-5, P6-7 – for a 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize in each category.
The Judges were David Lyon from Quarriers Rooftops Project, Michael Harvey (Shanks) and Elizabeth Mullen (Lorn & Oban Reuse Initiative = LORI)

The Prizes were:
1st Prize: handcrafted wooden pen made by The Employability Team, GRAB Jute Bag and GRAB Pencil made from recycled CD cases
2nd prize: a voucher to use in Orsay, GRAB Jute Bag and GRAB pencil
3rd prize: GRAB Jute Bag and GRAB Pencil.

The Winners were as follows (see photos at the end of this post):
P1-3 category
1st = Eilidh Munro (Barcaldine PS)
2nd = Shona McKenzie (Barcaldine)
3rd = Katie MacCorquardale (Barcaldine)

P4-5 Category
1st = Saffron Carmichael (Salen PS)
2nd Scott Paterson (Salen)
3rd Ben Collins (Barcaldine)

P6-7 Category
1st = Amy Greenwood (Barcaldine PS)
2nd = Charlotte Collins (Barcaldine)
3rd = George Needham (Achaleven PS)

The overall winner was Amy Greenwood, whose poster will be used to highlight the initiative in the windows of shops who are supporting the initiative.
Congratulations, Amy!
Prizewinners of Oban Plastic Bag Free Poster Competition: from back L to R: George Needham Achaleven PS, Amy Greenwood (Barcaldine and overall winner, Charlotte Collins (Barcaldine), Ben Collins (Barcaldine), Front row, Shona McKenzie (Barcaldine), Katie MacCorquardale (Barcaldine) and Eilidh Munro (Barcaldine). Photo © Julie Fairbrass, GRAB Trust, Nov. 2008

SAMS Endorsement of the Oban Plastic Bag Free! Initiative

2008-11-15T08:27:00.003Z

We are happy and proud to publish two endorsement messages from the Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory of SAMS, The Scottish Association for Marine Science.

They came in on October 31, 2008, and are published here with permission:

The message from Prof. Laurence Mee, the Director of SAMS, reads as follows:

"You are entirely right that free plastic bags are a bane of modern society and are causing untold environmental damage. It is amazing that the example of Ireland to charge for plastic bags has not been followed in the UK.
I am pleased to see that supermarkets in Oban offer alternatives but we need to go one step further and charge for the plastic ones!
I fully support your campaign and trust that my colleagues will do the same.
Laurence"

The message from the SAMS Activities Manager & Lecturer in Marine Life Sciences, Dr Anuschka Miller, reads:

"further to Laurence's email, a petition about your cause is currently making its way around the staff at SAMS, finding many supporters.
I moved to the UK from Germany some 17 years ago when free plastic bags started to disappear there. It has always perplexed me how slow the UK – which has otherwise become my home of choice – is in adopting even the simplest and most obvious solutions to environmental problems.
These relatively small gestures can make a huge difference to people's behaviour across many activities and I wish you and us all every success with your initiative!
Anuschka"

Oban victim of the plastic bag scourge

2008-10-11T23:35:00.000+01:00

Hello again

Today's victim of the plastic-bag scourge -- a young seagull at Oban harbour:

What should anyone tossing away any kind of rubbish, but plastic bags in general, be made to do?

Another youngster had one of its legs caught in a snare of fishing line or fishnet. MPJ wasn't quick enough on the uptake to get her camera out (having her fingers greasy with fish & chips didn't help).

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

2008-09-28T11:30:00.004+01:00

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

2008-09-25T09:47:00.003+01:00

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

2008-09-18T16:20:00.007+01:00

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

2008-09-15T12:30:00.006+01:00

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?" ?

Oban Plastic Bag Free! Initiative launched

2008-08-30T19:18:00.005+01:00

A public-private initiative was launched on Friday, August 29, 2008, to make Oban plastic-bag free.

The initiators were gratified to welcome to the launch meeting Ms Elaine Robertson (Councillor for Health), Ms Terry Donovan (organiser of the forthcoming ABREEF Environment Fair – http://www.argyllcommunities.org/ABREEF/) and Mr Bob McIllwraith (of ALIenergy – http://www.alienergy.org.uk/), some shop owners, as well as numerous members of the public.

The next photo shows the current committee members holding easily available reusable alternatives:

Margaret Powell (holding a wee woven basket from the Scottish Basketmakers' Circle, an organic cotton bag from Coop and an onya bag);
GRAB Trust (http://www.grab.org.uk/) coordinator, Julie Fairbrass (holding a morsbag); and
Astrid Horward, Eco-Promotion, holding a basket from the Scottish Basketmakers' Circle and a 100% compostable, fully biodegradable bag from BioBags Scotland
(photograph © by Carlo Beuger)

Of course we are hoping to make an impact and bring all the businesses of Oban on board.

Some sources of local and sustainable alternatives are (in no particular order):
• Pip Weaser of Kilmelford
artist and facilitator of the Scottish Basketmakers' Circle: http://www.scottishbasketmakerscircle.org; baskets grown and made in Argyll (baskets made by her group can be seen in the photo below, left)
• Annabel Gregory of Easdale Island

hand-made knitted and crocheted bags made from sustainably sourced jute (her bags in photo below, right)Annabel holding one of her knitted jute bags
(© photograph: MPJ)

• "Smile In Argyll" (an Oban artist) = pod no. 90 of morsbags sociable guerilla bagging: http://www.morsbags.com

• BioBags (Scotland) Ltd, Inverurie, Scotland
fully biodegradable, compostable carrier bags and more: http://www.biobags.co.uk (the ones in top right corner in photo below)

• onyabags for light-weight reusable bags made of parachute silk (sadly, not biodegradable); they also supply fully biodegradable bags: http://www.onyabags.co.uk
• ecomundi are the suppliers of the "Turtle Bag" (natural and coloured organic cotton string bags; see top right in photo below); also have lots of recyclable, biodegradable products: http://www.ecomundi.co.uk/eco/shop.php?cat=56

And for those of you who are reading this blog from across the Atlantic, i.e. in the U.S. of A., here's a supplier of organic cotton bags in the U.S., probably one of the first of its kind in the New World:
• ecobags -- the name says it all (they have a great website, by the way, with loads more information)
http://www.ecobags.com

We will be more than happy to provide contact details for people who don't have websites. Just send in a comment. NOTE: All comments are monitored, no commentator's details will be published here.

Finally, a website that lists loads of shops and businesses that sell reusable and recycled products. Check it out for yourself: http://www.sort-it.org.uk

Biodegradable, sustainable, non-plastic alternatives:
containers for big parties and the fast-food culture
(not that that is what I would particularly recommend) ...
(Photograph © MPJ)

We look forward to hearing from you!