How to become a plastic-bag-free town
Single-use plastic bags are not yet banned in England, though they are in many countries (including Bangladesh to prevent floods). They often get snagged in trees or dumped in rivers, where they choke wildlife or end up in the sea.
Store all bags away from children and pets. Launder bags with synthetic materials (polyester or recycled plastic) in a microfiber filter.
Organic cotton bags are a better choice and there are plenty around. Most charities have Teemill stores that sell organic cotton branded totes, a great choice that does good. They are also made with green energy and sold in zero waste packaging.
Modbury, Devon (a plastic-bag free town)
The Devon town of Modbury was Europe’s first plastic-bag free town. Rebecca was a BBC wildlife camera-woman who filmed albatross chicks dying in front of her, as their parents fed them plastic.
So she returned home, plied the locals with wine at an art gallery to show her film. Within a month the town had no plastic. Even delis use compostable pots and the local supermarket has no plastic bags.
Residents were given free cloth bags through the post, and there were amnesty bins, to place plastic bags.
These were sent off to be made into recycled plastic park benches. She says although they were supportive, doing this privately meant quicker results than a council-led ban.
Plastic-free Penzance!
The Cornish town of Penzance not only bans plastic bags, but plastic everything! Local greengrocers turn leftover veggies into soup, there are many zero waste shops, and restaurants use ketchup in bottles and have tap refill stations. Local hotels offer toiletries in reusable containers.
This has knock-on effects on the water. Penzance is the departure point for ferries to the Isles of Scilly, so this means less trash ends up on their islands. Good job, Penzance!
Develop a community action plan
It’s pretty easy to make your town plastic-bag-free, you just need to get organised like Modbury did. Make a plan!
- Host a gathering and screen a film on the perils of plastic bags. This film is free to view and just four minutes long to get the message out.
- Have discussions and brainstorm what you could do. Ask local businesses to get involved.
- Promote reusable bags for all stores, and compostable pots for delis.
- Post a free plastic-free bag through the letterbox of every resident.
- Have amnesty boxes in town (inside shops to avoid them blowing away) to let people bring in old plastic bags. You can then recycle these at local supermarkets (over several days or weeks if you have too many in one go).
- Get someone local with techy skills to place notices everywhere, letting residents and visitors know that your town is plastic-bag free!
Plastic bag free taxes & incentives
- San Francisco, California: This city was one of the first to enact a ban on plastic bags, introducing a small tax on paper and plastic bags. Businesses reported a 70% reduction in plastic bag distribution within just a year.
- Seattle, Washington: A similar tax approach led to a significant behavioural change. There wsa a 50% decrease in single-use plastic bags after two years.
- Dublin, Ireland: Ireland implemented a plastic bag levy in 2002. This tax saw plastic bag use plummet by over 90%. The tax motivated shoppers to bring their own bags.
How Capri (Italy) went plastic-free
This island near Naples is where ‘Lancashire lass’ Gracie Fields (at one time the highest-paid star in the world) lived until her death.
After the island became littered with plastic bottles in tourist season, the council fined anyone who brought them over by boat, and now hands out free reusable water flasks.
The same happened on another island (Tremiti) and the port city of Bari has banned the sale of single-use plastic cups, plates and straws. Liguria has even banned people from wearing flip-flops, as their mountain rescues were being called out, when people kept slipping up!
Why are councils not doing similar things here? England is surrounded by coast, and nobody lives more than 80 miles or so from the sea. Let’s be inspired by the Italians!
