Hello,

Please find press release attached (also copied in below).

Kind regards,

Paul Young
027 4188841

--------------------------------------------
17 August 2009

Press Release

 
70 metres of plastic bags in five hours – just a drop in the bucket

Campaigners in Dunedin collected enough plastic bags from shoppers in less than 5 hours to create a 70-metre long chain, as part of Saturday's “Plastic Bags Aren't Free Day”.

Four stalls were operated in the city centre from 10am-3pm by volunteers, mostly high school students involved with the Dunedin Secondary Students Climate Forum (DSSCF). Information was provided on the negative effects of plastic shopping bags, and ways to reduce usage at home. The group had also made stickers to help people remind themselves to take their reusable bags shopping, which proved very popular.

Shoppers with plastic bags were asked if they would like to swap one for a reusable bag (kindly donated by Progressive Enterprises and DCC Water & Waste Services), on the condition that they promised to take it with them next time they went shopping. Some bags were creatively decorated with paint and fabric, to add a personal touch.

The traded plastic bags were strung together at the end of the day, forming the 70-metre long chain, which was tied up through the centre of the Octagon in Dunedin.

“Onlookers were just astounded by the chain,” said DSSCF co-organiser, Celia Neilson. “The idea was to show people that while their individual actions may seem insignificant, they add with others' to make a huge impact. The truly sobering thing is that this was only a small percentage of the bags given out in just five hours in a fairly small city like Dunedin!”

In the lead-up to “Plastic Bags Aren't Free Day”, campaigners also visited most retailers throughout Dunedin and invited them to take part by asking customers to make a 10 cent donation for plastic bags on the day.

“Disappointingly, we only know of two stores that bravely took part – Stirling Sports and The Athlete's Foot,” said co-organiser, Paul Young. “We thought Dunedin would do better. However, it was heartening to learn of the small number of stores that have their own initiatives in place to reduce bag use, and The Warehouse and New World and Pak 'N' Save supermarkets are already leading the way.”

“What I noticed, though, was that most of the stores wanted to get on board, but were worried about annoying their customers or getting offside with head office. I think this is a strong case for local or national governmental action – stores want to do the right thing, but they need a level playing field.”

ends 

© Scoop Media