Banchory bags Campaign

I spent Monday afternoon going around and talking with some of the shopkeepers and thought I would report on the progress they were making……..good news and bad.
 
Sue Ryder - who were totally in favour of the campaign and the local manager running down stocks of plastic bags reports that one of their Managers has just re-ordered thousands of plastic bags for the Banchory shop!  I have had a lot of correspondence with SR so will be following this up.  Local manager doing everything she can to promote their reusable bags which are very varied and attractive.  [Following an email to SR, I have had an apology from them saying that they are fully in support of BbC and that the person who ordered these bags is no longer with them.]
 
Mitchells, a hardware shop, brought-up the suggestion that the Banchory Business Association get together and order bags at the last meeting of the Association, but it will not happen as they were the only ones apart from the committee at the meeting.
 
[I talked with the Chairman of the association on the 'phone and he confirmed that they could not help us, except to send out information to all their members.  He did say that he, personally, was in favour of what we were doing and said that he would source alternatives for the Inchmarlo Golf Shop - which he runs and he will happily put up posters, etc supporting BbC.]
 
Charles Michie Chemists staff tell me that at least 25% of customers bring their own bags.  Good work, but some way yet to go.
 
The Co-op Manager reports that all Co-op stores are going to move to having plastic bags kept where customers will have to ask for them [at some time in the future].  The Banchory store is to be re-fitted in June and we agreed that we could have a ‘mutually beneficial’ campaign - pushing their cotton bags, which would be kept in a prominent position in future, handing out our ‘hints’, and talking with folk.
 
WH Smith are getting their own cotton bags and will, likewise, be keeping plastic bags where customers have to ask for them.  The Manager says her order for plastic bags has reduced by 1/3rd.
 
Bentleys, a dress shop, staff are very keen on the pink Go Green Bag left with them earlier this month but haven’t had any feed-back from the owner.  They will follow this up for me.
 
Hay’s Florists will do a special floral display in June to support the campaign.

Red Cross complained that some of our ’supporters’ had been in and abused their staff.  I apologised profusely and said that I was sure that none of the BbC team would do that.

Cherubs, Baby Shop, ready to order some bags from Go Green.

This morning I heard the good news that our bags have been produced and are sitting in a container awaiting shipment.  The bad news was that there have been two serious typhoons in the area and all shipping has been disrupted.  The problem now, is that everyone is trying to get their various containers onto a limited number of ships.  Fingers still crossed that we will receive them in time for our launch in early June - but no guarantee, which makes it all a bit difficult to make all the necessary arrangements!

I came across two articles in the press this weekend that have made me pause for thought - ‘Sustainable‘ bio-plastic can damage the environment | Environment … in ‘The Guardian’ Weekend Edition, and  FT.com - Plastic: The elephant in the room in the Financial Times magazine.

The Guardian article concentrates on the fact that a recent study the paper did suggests that

The worldwide effort by supermarkets and industry to replace conventional oil-based plastic with eco-friendly “bioplastics” made from plants is causing environmental problems and consumer confusion…..

…..substitutes [to conventional plastic] can increase emissions of greenhouse gases on landfill sites, some need high temperatures to decompose and others cannot be recycled in Britain.

Many of the bioplastics are also contributing to the global food crisis…..

However, the article pointes out that;  ’the [biodegradable] industry says bioplastics make carbon savings of 30-80%.’

The article goes on to say that;  ‘In theory bioplastics are good.  But in practice there are lots of barriers.’

As campaigners, I believe that we have to acknowledge these issues.

The Financial Times talks about various forms of packaging and, in particular, plastic packaging and points out that

…acknowledging the good qualities in plastic packaging……. cannot be allowed to obscure two unavoidable truths:  our current, single-use relationship with plastic packaging cannot last;  and change, both in materials that we use and ways in which we consume, is going to come largely through the market.  So our behaviour matters…….

… - Mr Packaging - put the challenge another way.  “The amount of packaging we have is a reflection of the life we lead.  That’s the fundamental issue.  And if you want to make a change to that, then you can change your life habits and you can try and get other people to change theirs.  But I’m sorry, that ain’t going to happen.

I beg to differ.

The Banchory bags Campaign is not trying to tackle the whole problem of plastics and I certainly do not have an answer to the many questions these articles raise.  However, habits can be changed [drinking and driving/smoking in public places] and, if shoppers took their own reusable bags with them every time they shopped, we would significantly reduce the need for at least single-use plastic carrier bags.

It is worth remembering what the Financial Times points out:

If the rest of the world lived as Europe does, it would need three planets to sustain it.  To consume our rightful share of resources, we must think in terms of radical reductions.

I am sure that there are many people in the Banchory area who wholeheartedly support our campaign and who now always take their reusable bags with them when they go shopping. 

We now need some of these supporters to help us to win-over those shoppers who constantly forget to bring their own bags when they shop, and those who still do not own a reusable bag.

If you feel that you could spare a few hours to help during the second week of June, please add a comment to this blog and I will get back to you asap, or email me on christina.brown40@googlemail.com .

One of the Banchory bags Campaign team was recently in the South West and she especially made a visit to Modbury in order to see at first-hand what effect their campaign had had on the town.  This is what she reported back to the team:-

I thought you might be interested in what I saw in the S.West when we were down there recently.  Mainly it was a big plus especially about Modbury.  Being plastic bag free is really working there.   I was particularly impressed by the Co-op.   As I queued up I could see that they had no single use bags at the check out,  not even the Co-op degradable ones.   If you are stuck, you can buy a bio-degradable corn starch one for 5p or Modbury’s own eco one (£3.99 I think) and that’s it.  As you go into the shop, facing you is a display of bags- their own Co-op cotton ones, two Modbury bags and some turtle bags.  With this, are leaflets produced by the Co-op in support of the campaign .

That is truly wonderful.  All concerned must have worked very hard indeed to make their campaign so successful.

I am going to approach our Co-op to see if I can get them to be more proactive.  I know that the Manager is in favour of the campaign but so far all he has done is to put out stocks of their cotton bags [which have been very popular].  I believe that the store is to be refurbished in June, so perhaps that will provide us with a mutually beneficial  opportunity to address the issue of single-use plastic bags.

I have talked at length with the Promotions Manager at the Co-op Head Office and she tells me they are running trials in various areas at the moment, but it was impossible to include Banchory in those trials. Hopefully, the trials will be successful and Banchory will be able to participate in any future scheme.  She sent me a long email trying to reassure me that the Co-op degradable bags are not harmful, but I am not convinced. 

Personally, I would rather people used reusable bags.

Thankfully, I found that not all areas of the UK are littered with plastic rubbish dropped from cars.   In some, my husband and I could actually enjoy the wildflowers growing on the verges.  What a delight after all those miles of litter!  Let’s make all of the UK roadsides, countryside, towns and cities free from litter, and the easiest way to make a start is to make your village/town/suburb plastic bag free.

Go Green Bags were kind enough to mention our campaign here in Banchory on their website http://www.gogreenbags.com/  this month:-

One town in Aberdeenshire particularly made headlines with their campaign to become a ‘plastic bag free town’. Banchory, a beautiful town which sits on the banks of the River Dee have set up a campaign which was started and run by local resident, Christina Brown. Christina started her campaign in January this year, she has written weekly blogs about her ups and downs throughout the campaign, which you can read all about here.

The Banchory Bag Campaign has chosen Go Green Bags to produce their bag which they will be giving away to local residents of Banchory.  They’ve had a great response from sponsors who have helped to finance the bag and we’re sure that the bag will be a huge success.

There are many towns all over the UK who, like Banchory are setting a great example to the rest of the world. If you have an interest or know of someone who would like to start such a campaign to join other ‘plastic bag free’ towns, I’m sure Christina would be happy to help with advice on where to start. Go Green Bags are and will continue to be proud to support such great causes. Please contact us, we will help all we can.

There is a lot of support you can get, if you do decide to start a campaign, and don’t be put-off by the thought that you might not be 100% successful immediately.  Many so called ‘plastic bag free towns’ are still working towards that end and are just pleased to have made a start.

During the last few days my husband and I have been driving South through countryside that should be looking at its best with all the Spring flowers and trees coming into leaf.  However, what we have been looking at has been mile after mile of litter - mostly plastic. 

I am totally depressed and very annoyed.  Britain looks like a huge dump.  What has happened that people feel it is alright to just toss litter from their cars?

When I was growing-up in Australia [more years ago than I care to mention], the Australian countryside looked a little like this.  However, the Government introduced large fines and conducted a huge programme in the schools and the media to educate Australians to take their litter home with them and dispose of it there.

I know, this is not completely connected to the Banchory bags Campaign, but plastic bags were a large part of the roadside litter I have been looking at and I feel that we have to hope that more towns are inspired to try to go Plastic Bag Free.

I have also written to the Aberdeenshire Council telling them about the campaign and going on to say:-

As I understand it, when Tesco’s were talking with the Aberdeenshire Council recently they stressed the fact that if they were allowed to go ahead with building a supermarket in Banchory, it would be an ‘Eco-Store’; and that they would follow the procedure of keeping plastic bags under the counter, as they had done in North Berwick.

However, when I was talking with Jennifer Duncan, Tesco’s Corporate Affairs Manager, in the Douglas Arms in Banchory, she said that there had been no commitment to keeping plastic bags under the counter and that it had only been mentioned as something that they ‘might possibly do’.

As Conveynor of BbC I believe it would completely undermine our campaign if Tesco’s did not do its utmost to persuade customers to use reusable bags for their supermarket shopping and, I believe, that keeping single-use plastic carrier bags out-of-sight and making customers ask for them is the best way to do this.

I would, therefore, urge the Council to ensure that part of the conditions for allowing the development to go ahead is a written commitment to taking this action.

If any Banchory readers have similar concerns I ask them to contact the council in the next few days. It can be done on line by going to http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/contact/online.asp.

I had been very disappointed at the lack of progress Somerfield appeared to be making after the enthusiasm Nigel, the Manager, had expressed early in the campaign. All was made clear when I asked to speak with him again yesterday and was told that Nigel was no longer the Manager of the Banchory store.

Back to square one! Sean is now the Manager, so I spoke at some length with him. He seemed quite keen but did not seem to think that they were getting jute bags [as Nigel had indicated]. However, he said he would check this.

He also said that he would check to see if it was possible for them to offer a free ‘Bag for Life’ to every customer who brought 5 plastic carrier bags [from any store] into the supermarket, and to agree to replace the ‘Bag for Life’ when it was worn out.

I am not sure how enthusiatically he will follow this through, so I have written him a letter stating that without Somerfield’s positive assistance, the campaign will prove much harder to bring off.

I also pointed out that

As I am sure you would realise, the ‘Bags For Life’ [and/or the jute bags, if they are available] would need to be displayed in a prominent position on the check-out counter where customers could reach for them, instead of the single-use bags which are currently readily available.

In some Plastic Bag Free towns the supermarkets have placed single-use plastic carrier bags UNDER the counter and only give them away if customers ask for them. This initiative has proven most effective in these towns and might prove popular with Banchory shoppers as 98% of those we questioned said they would support Banchory becoming a Plastic Bag Free town.

Even if you are unable to offer ‘Bags For Life’ in exchange for single-use carrier bags, the BbC would very much appreciate your promoting the ‘Bags For Life’ with big posters around your store and, if possible, a banner outside the store saying that you are supporting the Banchory bags Campaign.

Today, Liz Forrester, the Go Green Bags representative and I did the rounds of all the Banchory shops who had expressed an interest in perhaps stocking reusable bags.  In the pouring rain, I might add, [liz without a raincoat and me with a broken umbrella!], we visited 22 shops together and Liz went on to visit another 3 after I had left her.

I think it was a very successful morning although only 3 shops actually bought boxes of bags [100 bags] at the time.  Most of the shops were extremely interested and Liz left them with sample bags and details of the Go Green website where they could confirm any of the information she had told them.  I am sure that many will get in touch with the company once they have had time to consider what and how many they require.  One shop, a newly opened bookshop, was very keen to have their own bag produced and others also expressed interest in possibly having their own bags made.

Banchory must be a ‘pink’ town, as 6 of the shops chose the pink sample bag out of the many varied colours Liz had with her.  However, two of those which bought bags chose mixed boxes of red/blue/green.  It will be interesting to go back in a few weeks’ time and see how they have gone.

Most rewarding, from my point of view, was a visit to the local toy shop which had been very keen to have bags, but they said that virtually nobody wanted bags these days [everybody bringing their own], so they had changed their minds.  A shame for Liz, but very good news for me.

When I got home, I had a very pleasant surprise.  One of the takeaway Fish & Chip shops had emailed in response to a letter I had written their Head Office in Aberdeen, asking where he could get bags.  He wants to suggest to customers that they bring back their bags on their weekly/daily visits to the shop.   Go Green bags would be ideal for this purpose as they are washable.   Unfortunately, Liz had left by this time to visit a local Farm Shop but I have put them in touch with one another and Liz will send him a sample bag, I am sure.