Whipping up some Boomerang Bags at the Farmers’ Market were Jenny Crawford (seated left) and Nu’umoe Duffy (right), with Helen Parker (standing). Photo – Lara Conners.
Plastic Bags were pretty much shunned in Cambridge last Saturday, with the town getting behind an initiative to veto the environmental pest for the day. Members of sewing collective Plastic Bag Free Cambridge distributed around 250 produce bags throughout the morning, as well as handing out amnesty bags to those who had forgotten to bring reusable bags.
Bag-making force of nature Dot Harding auctioned off her 1000th bag at Fresh Choice – featuring an applique turtle – which was snapped up for $90 and then presented back to her. One of the organisers, Sam Brydon, said she saw one retailer getting a telling off when offering a plastic bag, with the customer saying: “You’re not supposed to be offering bags today!”. All three supermarkets were plastic bag free on the day and many other shops too, Sam said. “No plastic bags to be seen at the Farmers’ Market, and when we were was handing out produce bags in town at Vege Fresh, about 65 per cent of shoppers arrived with bags, and many others used boxes,” she added.
Overall, the day was a success, Sam said, and hopefully the start of more to come.
