Sales figures from Vinnies shops throughout the North Coast show that in the first three months after plastic bags were phased out a total of 49,997 single-use bags were removed from circulation.
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All 28 Vinnies shops in the region ended plastic bag use from 1 st January 2018. The eco-friendly policy applies to St Vincent de Paul Society’s retail outlets between Tweed Heads in the north and Laurieton in the south, including the new shop in Bellingen that opened recently.
Kim Boyd, the Society’s North Coast Retail Operations Manager said shop volunteers have been asking people to either bring their own bags or to buy one of the Vinnies-branded cloth bags since the beginning of the year.
“The proceeds from these bags will also be used to assist local people in need,” Ms Boyd said.
She highlighted the negative impact of plastic bags on the environment, especially the damage done to marine life.
“Vinnies is pleased to be in the forefront of the push to end plastic bag use in retail outlets, and welcomes recent moves by major businesses to follow suit.
“Vinnies shops have an environmental focus on the rescue and re-use of quality clothing and household items that might otherwise go to landfill. Providing good value to customers is the other part of the equation.
“In addition, lesser quality clothing items are bundled in our processing centre in Goonellabah, and exported to developing countries. We also produce clean ‘bags of rags’ that are popular with painters, mechanics, car detailers and so on.
“Each year Vinnies recycles and reprocesses hundreds of tonnes of clothing and sundry goods that would otherwise be wasted. Along with helping the environment this earns precious funds to assist people doing it tough in our region.
“The move away from plastic bags reflects our commitment to being good environmental citizens of the North Coast.”