On Saturday 30th June, 2007 THAME joined Modbury and other towns in attempting to become a plastic bag free town. A campaign was launched by Thame First (formerly Thame and District Chamber of Commerce), part of the 21st Century Thame Partnership, and several retailers set the ball rolling by offering sustainable alternatives.
The following information sheet was delivered to all retailers in the town to explain to them the environmental damage posed by throw-away plastic bags:
Bring Your Own Bag to Thame Campaign
WHAT?
- THAME FIRST is encouraging people to join the Bring your own Bag campaign and hopefully see Thame eventually become a PLASTIC BAG FREE TOWN
- The project will be launched on Saturday 30th June, 2007, in conjunction with the Packaging
- Unwrapped day organised by the Community Action Group (CAG) and Oxfordshire Federation of Women’s Institutes.
- There is increasing evidence that shoppers are going for the eco friendly option, make sure that you can supply it.
WHY?
- Plastic bags have been in the news lately; they are being taxed or banned all over the world. The average adult uses 300 plastic bags a year, that’s about one million bags a minute! On average each plastic bag is used for 12 minutes before discarding it.
- Plastic never disappears; it will outlive you and your children. It breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces contaminating soil, waterways and the seas, and enters the food chain through animals. YUK!
- 46,000 pieces of plastic debris floats on or just below the surface of every square mile of the world’s oceans.
- After an animal dies from ingesting plastic the body decomposes and the plastic is then released back into the environment to kill another animal. 100,000 animals die each year from plastic.
- 47% of windborne litter that escapes from landfill is plastic. Biodegradable plastic needs sunlight to break down; in landfill there is no sunlight under the layers.
- If all these jute bags are sold and used over a six month period, we will have saved the use of 150,000 plastic bags
HOW?
Thame First has ordered 1,000 ethically traded, and ecologically printed jute shopping bags. These will be available to buy at cost (£2 each) to Thame retailers who can either resell them for the same price or give them away. A number of stores including Sapphire Moon, Domesco, Elegance, Clays, Togs, Thame Trading, Essence, Mi Casa, Pet Care and The Natural Cafe, have already agreed to stock them.
