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

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a historic entry from about 2009 that – for some obscure reason – never made it into the blog, some information may be outdated by now.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

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!

No comment needed, just watch this:

Have a green Christmas

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.

(© Photo: Caroline Askew, The GRAB Trust)

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...

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.

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!

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/

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

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

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

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

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'

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.

A PBF U.K. Mission Statement

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

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. Established as an independent company in 2000, WRAP is backed by government funding from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
8. 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.
9. 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

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!

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

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

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!