Sales figures from Vinnies shops throughout the North Coast show 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 January 1, 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 recently opened shop in Bellingen.
Kim Boyd, the Society’s North Coast Retail Operations Manager, “From the start of this year our shop volunteers have been asking people to either bring their own bags or to buy one of the Vinnies-branded cloth bags that are on sale. The proceeds from these bags will also be used to assist local people in need.”
Ms Boyd 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,” Kim Boyd added.