A success story from Appin, Argyll

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

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

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.?

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

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

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

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/