OPOTIKI’S Boomerang Bags have so far been a success, even if they have been more of a “boom” than an “erang”.
Opotiki New World owner Jimmy Heal said 120 of the bags had gone out of the store, but they were yet to come back.
“New World will go plastic bag free by the end of the year,” he said.
“We all need to engage in the removal of the plastic bags.”
The Boomerang Bags initiative was a good example of that engagement and Mr Heal was pleased the bags were popular, but the trick was bringing them back to the store.
Supportive residents have donated bags from other businesses, but the net result is still a deficit.
“This is a friendly reminder to bring the Boomerang Bags back,” Mr Heal said.
Boomerang Bags is a global initiative that seeks to engage local communities in the making of re-usable bags that are made from recycled materials. Thus, Boomerang Bags provides a free, fun, sustainable alternative to plastic bags.
Green screening popular
BOOMERANG Bags Opotiki spokeswoman Mithuna Sothieson said 70 people had turned up for the screening of the documentary A Plastic Ocean at the Opotiki Heritage Arts Centre on March 16.
Boomerang Bags Opotiki was also officially launched that weekend.
Ms Sothieson said 120 bags had so far been put in the stand at New World.
“We will continue to top this stand up on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.”
To aid the transition away from plastic bags, it was important to get used to shopping with durable and non-polluting bags.
“Remember to bring your own reusable bags when you go shopping and get into the routine of putting reusable bags back into your vehicle after unloading groceries for use next time,” Ms Sothieson said.
“Think about alternatives to plastic bags for putting shopping in.”
Production of plastic bags required large amounts of resources, she said.
“If it’s not recycled correctly, a plastic bag can take 100 years to break down and, in the meantime, can be disastrous to wildlife,”
The average life of a plastic bag is estimated to be 12 minutes, after which it gets thrown out, put away, dropped as litter or recycled.
Ms Sothieson said people wanting to get involved with Boomerang Bags Opotiki could get in touch via the bbopotiki@gmail.com email address.
“Volunteers meet up twice a month to make bags at public sewing bees,” she said.