Hollie Fallick shares details of this upcoming day of action. Ed
Islanders fed up with the amount of packaging in our supermarkets are invited to take part in a ‘Plastic Attack’ at a local store this Sunday (7thJuly).
Members of an Isle of Wight ‘Journey to Zero Waste’ Facebook group have been sharing photos of examples of excessive use of plastic bags and containers in our shops in the last year.
Sunday lunchtime
They plan to gather outside a Newport store at lunchtime on Sunday, to demonstrate their frustration, and to demand that supermarkets take urgent action to reduce plastic waste.
Petitions not making a difference
Over the last couple of years campaigner Hollie Fallick has been taking direct action by leaving her single-use plastic at many supermarket checkouts after purchase.
She said,
“I have written to the stores and signed petitions but they are still not taking fast enough action to tackle the issue. Recycling rates are improving, but there are real concerns about where our plastic ends up.
“Reprocessing of this material uses up valuable energy. We must reuse our containers and reduce our reliance on throw-away packaging.”
Plastic Free Month
The event coincides with the first ever ‘Plastic Free’ Glastonbury festival, with no disposable water bottles on site.
In addition, July is the global ‘Plastic Free Month’ when people are encouraged to refuse single-use plastics wherever they can.
How to take part
To join the Plastic Attack, meet in Newport at 11.30am (Sainsburys) ready to do some shopping, followed by removing all unnecessary plastic packaging to leave it with the supermarket to deal with.
Supermarkets have the purchasing power to make a significant commitment to reduce packaging all round – and by working with their customers we are confident they can do this.
