Information on Loughborough

Summer reusable bag campaign

Posted on 28/07/2009

Leicestershire Councty Council Highways, Transportation & Waste Management

24 July 2009

Summer reusable bag campaign

Bag yourself a greener future and take advantage of a free reusable shopping bag this summer.

Leicestershire Waste Partnership is launching a countywide campaign to promote reusable bags and banish plastic carrier bags.

In 2008, UK shoppers took home 9.9 billion new carrier bags - that’s 400 per household.

To produce this number of bags would have required 180,000 tonnes of oils and produced green house gases equivalent to 100,000 extra cars on the road. If all these extra bags were sent to landfill, there would be enough to fill 188 Olympic swimming pools.

Residents are being urged to kick this bad habit and get themselves a bag habit instead during the campaign which is running during July and August.

Roadshows will be held across the county where shoppers will be entitled to one reusable bag per household on completion of a short questionnaire which will enable the partnership to monitor the use of the bags. People will be able to choose from a selection of cotton or jute bags.

Chairman of Leicestershire Waste Partnership Michael Rook said: “Billions of plastic bags are taken from UK shops each year. Many of these end up in landfill sites and can take hundreds of years to decompose.

“Remembering to take a reusable bag shopping is a simple but effective step everyone can make to reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfill and help improve our environment.”

Roadshows – all from 10am to 3pm:

Tuesday, 28th July:                  Market Place, Loughborough

Thursday, 30th July:                 Bell Street, Wigston

Friday, 31st July:                      Belvoir Centre, Coalville

Tuesday, 4th August:               Melton Market, High Street, Melton Mowbray

Wednesday, 5th August:          Church Street, Hinckley

Thursday, 6th August:              Blaby Shopping Precinct – outside Waitrose

Saturday, 8th August:              The Square, Market Harborough  

Leicestershire Waste Partnership will be publishing articles and adverts in the local press throughout the campaign with handy hints on how to remember your bag when you go shopping.

For further information about this or any other recycling initiative visit www.leics.gov.uk/waste or call 0116 305 7005