Zen and the art of reducing plastic

Wednesday, 4 July 2018

In 2016, while visiting Sian Ka'an National Park in the Caribbean coast of Mexico, Jeremy Stead, an enterprising young man from Tahunanui, was almost brought to tears at the sight of formerly pristine white sand beaches covered ankle deep in plastic rubbish.

The Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an area of high biodiversity, where Jaguars prowl and turtles abound. 'It was the worst plastic pollution I had ever seen' Jeremy said. 'I felt I had to do something and the idea of recycling plastic bottles into re-usable and recyclable bags seemed like a good place to start.'

Jeremy came home and joined forces with like-minded Leon Jay, who runs EthicallyMAD, a marketing company supporting sustainable businesses who are Making A Difference (MAD).

The result was the creation of Zenbags. Zenbags have a lot to offer; each bag is made from three recycled plastic bottles and can be recycled again at end of life as a soft plastic.

They are very durable, strong and fold into a pocket-sized pouch. For each bag bought one tree is planted, and 10 per cent of company profits go to help clean up the oceans.

Due to the double stitching, strength of the fabric, and wide handle design, Zenbags will last well over a year of regular use (potentially much longer) and users report they are even more practical than normal plastic bags or many heavier material reusable bags.

'We know Zenbags are not an ideal solution long-term, but there are way too many plastic bottles out there, and each Zenbag saves over 200 single-use plastic bags. And, for now at least, they not only provide an alternative to the problem, but help restore some of the damage already caused'. You can check out the bags at https://zenbags.org/.

Jeremy is not alone in his concern over plastic pollution; at long last, with dire predictions of there being more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050, the staggering amount of plastic in our oceans has reached mainstream consciousness.

Fresh Choice, Countdown and New World supermarkets have listened to customers and are phasing out single-use plastic bags. Countdown, the first supermarket in NZ to announce a move away from single-use plastic carrier bags, estimates their initiative will remove around 350 million single-use plastic bags from circulation each year.

Fresh Choice Nelson has already stopped providing plastic bags to shoppers. Countdown stores offer a black reusable Bag for Good™, which sells for $1 and will be replaced for free when it wears out.

Rather disappointingly though, Countdown has opted to replace its free single-use bags with thicker, more durable plastic ones by the end of this year.

Another excellent alternative to plastic shopping bags is Boomerang bags, sewn by volunteers from recycled fabric.

The name 'Boomerang' reflects the fact that they are free to take away and can be returned to the store that stocks them or passed on to others in need. Boomerang Bags is a global, grassroots, community-driven movement tackling plastic pollution at its source and also reducing the amount of waste fabric going to landfill. Lani Bee initiated the Nelson Boomerang Bags community; the bags are beautiful and becoming very popular with those in the know. http://boomerangbags.org

Jeremy is now expanding Zenbags to Auckland and hopes supermarkets and larger stores will stock them, as the low wholesale price makes them very affordable. Boomerang bags are also being offered at Fresh Choice in Nelson and The Nelson Organic Food Coop at Ecoland, 31 Vanguard Street.

Let's hope supermarkets and other stores grab these great alternatives so we can finally say bye to the plastic shopping bag forever.