The plastic bag ban
Small gesture with a big effect
Do you know Modbury in South Devon, England? You do not have to, at least not yet! The small southern English town with its 1500 inhabitants, three churches, a couple of pubs and no real cultural events is certainly not on the list of tourist attractions. However, the number of visitors is rapidly increasing at present as  Modbury has been in the headlines of the British press for six months now. It owes its popularity to the fact that the 43 shops in the little town no longer offer plastic shopping bags – not even the supermarkets at an extra charge!
The initiative for this action was not taken by a mayor seeking election, but by a native of the region, Rebecca Hosking, a camera woman who presented the shocking results of her documentary film of marine life in the Pacific to the retailers of Modbury. The impact was greater than hoped for. Modbury is a bare 20 km away from the coast and plastic waste is one of the most obvious environmental sins. The shopkeepers of Modbury are now offering their customers cotton bags as an alternative. They cost £3.95, have been fairly produced in India and are printed with town advertisements. Rebecca received more than 800 emails in two days with compliments, but chiefly queries from people sympathetic with the cause. Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire has been Europe’s second plastic bag free city since September and the initiatives are creating mutual courage to follow suit. London’s 33 city districts have unanimously decided to do away with disposable bags as of 2009, and three of the British Channel Islands are competing to be the first plastic bag free island.
A few facts:
Each year, 1.2 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide; a person uses a plastic bag for an average of 12 minutes.
MM
More at:
www.plasticbagfree.com
www.messageinthewaves.com
www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/apr/28/plasticbags
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