Plastic Bag Free has just gone international!

With so many countries having banned single use plastic bags it is a great pity that the UK is still not one of them. None the less, the British shopper has cut down on use a tremendous amount so the message is getting out there.

There will always be the old die-hards of this ‘disposable’ generation who see convenience as another form of progress and accuse us of trying to live in the dark ages. But our shoulders have become pretty broad over the past couple of years:>)

So, what started as an idea we had in Julia’s living room during one PBFC meeting was mooted to the wider PBF community and took off. Several groups signed up to supporting a UK PBF day. But then the international community got wind of it and wanted to spread the field wider.

So write it in your diary: 12th September, 2009.

We are planning an event in town that day but there is a lot of work to do before hand. We need all our supporters to write to the big chains and supermarkets asking them to support the day and use it as a lever towards become totally PBF free. We will be getting information out to you all shortly.

Please support this campaign and help us persuade  Briatain to become a plastic bag free nation.

Well, the news is good if not perfect.

To quote Channel4 news: “Leading supermarkets and the government narrowly miss a target to reduce carrier bag use as figures published today show a 48 per cent drop.”

They are giving the supermarkets credit but I’m not so sure that is the right place to offer congratulation. I think it is more likely due the great British public say “No, thank you” when offered a plastic bag.

So a pat on the back to all our readers and keep up the good work:>)

It’s good to see that The Guardian are making suggestions for preventing plastic bags reaching landfill. Knit yourself this year’s fashion (or trashion) and make a clutch! Full instruction provided here!

Last Saturday we were outside Sainsbury’s handing out leaflets, selling our lovely bags (http://www.plasticbagfreechesham.co.uk/buy-a-bag.html)  talking to shoppers and answering their questions about the campaign.

Sainsbury’s also joined in by having a Green Till for the day, a till where there were no free single use bags, so only people with their own bags, or those willing to pay for bags for life could go through. It proved so popular that they had to open a second till next door!

We were all really heartened to see how many shoppers were carrying their own bags or boxes, as well as the guilty looks and comments from those who had forgotten them. It seems like habits are really starting to change, which is great.

So thanks to Sainsbury’s for their support and to everyone who took the time to have a chat and add their verbal support, please don’t forget to carry your bags at all times!

Alison and Donna went to visit Ley Hill School today to lead the Assembly. See the article and prize winners on our web page.

This is the headline of an article in The Independent today:

Shops gave out 3.5 billion fewer plastic bags last year under a voluntary scheme which has, for now, headed off the threat of a government ban on free carrier bags. Figures from Wrap, the Government’s anti-waste body, show that the number of plastic bags dispensed fell from 13.4 billion in 2007 to 9.9 billion last year, a drop of 26 per cent.

Wrap said that when taking into account increased recycled content in the bags, the use of virgin materials in the bags had been slashed by 40 per cent, well above the 25 per cent target set in 2007. Supermarkets have now agreed a target of reducing the number of bags by 50 per cent – from 2006 levels – by May. But the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), while welcoming the new figures, warned that it would retain the option of introducing a charge for bags if stores failed to honour their commitments.

 Martin Hickman, Consumer Affairs Correspondent

It was good to meet and talk with everyone at Elgiva this week. Hope you all enjoyed the films and many thanks to those who stocked up on Plastic Bag Free Chesham bags :>)

Happy New Year to everyone reading these pages. Thanks for visiting us.

Well the new year is creeping into our senses and we are starting to poke our noses out from under the covers. The CarryAbag Team are regrouping after the celebrations and will shortly be out and about in a shop near you!

Speak to you soon and if you only make one resolution this year – make it sustainable!

Just a quick reminder that we will be on a stall at the Victorian Evening selling our fabulous Chesham cotton bags, so come and say ‘hi’ and get bags for everyone you know for Christmas!

The Victorian Evening is next Friday, 28th November from 6pm.

At this stage we don’t know where along the High Street our stall is to be situated, but rest assured, if we find out before the event we’ll post it here……

There will be another MorsBag Pod at Blue Haze Arts and Crafts,  2 Church Street, Market Square on Saturday 25th October from 1.30 to 4.30 to make more free cloth bags to hand out at the Victorian Evening.

Volunteers are required for cutting out and ironing before the event, which anyone can have a go at doing, and if any of you know your way around a sewing machine, then you could get involved on the day. Also if you have any old quilt covers, curtains or other material that you would like to donate, then you can be involved that way.

Either way please contact Hazel at Blue Haze beforehand by popping into the shop or emailing her on info@blue-haze.co.uk

For more information about Morsbags go to www.morsbags.com

Happy morsbagging!