Press release: September 2010: Plastic-Bag-Free Day returns to Kingston
Plastic-Bag-Free Day reaches Kingston Market Place on Saturday 11th September this year, when shoppers will be invited to “Bring Your Own Bag” and Kingston retailers asked to stop handing out throw-away plastic bags for a day.
Greener Kingston volunteers will be giving away badges and long-life bags, or exchanging them for plastic carriers which will be recycled. Retailers that would like to join in are invited to direct customers to the stall outside All Saints Church in the Market Place to pick up a free bag. Giveaway bags will include lightweight bags from Greener Upon Thames and colourful cloth bags made from recycled fabrics by Transition Town Kingston.
Local co-ordinator of this national campaign Marilyn Mason comments: “Though more and more people these days do take a bag when they go shopping, some people still forget – and we hope that our badges will remind them and our bags that fit into a pocket or handbag will make it easier to remember. It has just been announced that yet again the big supermarket chains have failed to meet the Government target of a 50% reduction – in fact they handed out even more plastic bags this year than last* – so while we wait for Government and stores to act responsibly, we all have to do what we can to reduce the plague of plastic bags littering our environment."
Notes for editors
* "Supermarkets lose heart in green war on plastic carrier bags, Independent on Sunday, 22/8/10: Campaigners call for legislation as retailers fail to meet targets to cut one of the most visible signs of waste. Britain's biggest supermarket chains will come under fire this week for handing out tens of millions more carrier bags than last year, derailing attempts to reduce the environmental impact from billions of disposable bags. New figures will show that the industry missed its target of halving the number of plastic bags used in 2006 for the second consecutive year."
See http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/supermarkets-lose-heart-in-green-war-on-plastic-carrier-bags-2058840.html
More information about the environmental problems caused by plastic bags, many of them local, such as litter and bags in the Thames, at www.greenerkingston.org.uk, where there are also many photos (local, national and international, litter and wildlife).
More about Transition Town Kingston and its green activities at http://ttkingston.org/.
Marilyn Mason, co-ordinator of Greener Kingston, can be contacted at info@greeneerkingston.org.uk or on 020 8546 4086.