Keeping out plastics
Plastic Free Mission Beach Boomerang Bags co-ordinator Dee Dean wants as many volunteers to help cut, iron, sew and screen print materials for hundreds of recyclable bags.
A DREAM of making Mission Beach a plastic-free zone is gaining momentum.
Plastic Free Mission Beach Boomerang Bags co-ordinator Dee Dean wants as many volunteers as possible to help cut, iron, sew and screen print materials for hundreds of recyclable bags this weekend.
Ms Dean launched the group in January but she said it had got off to a slow start.
The boomerang bags will be left at local shops and tourist centres and will hopefully be reused or returned to lessen the reliance on non-biodegradable plastic bags.
Inspired by a trip to Victoria’s Great Ocean Road where the majority of towns banned plastic bags, Ms Dean wanted to make changes in her own part of Australia.
“I can’t sit back and not do anything about it in our own community, especially in Mission Beach, because it is so close to the Reef and the rainforest,” she said.
“It is all a goodwill, good karma type of thing. We are slowly trying to set up a committee where we will have volunteers who make the bags with our own unique logo, which includes a turtle and a cassowary.
“We want to make as many as we possibly can and as soon as we have enough we put them out around town.”
If someone forgets their bag, they can bring them back next time they are in the area but Ms Dean knows there will be a percentage which don’t return and she is OK with that.
“As I keep on saying to people, how amazing if you’re sitting in a cafe overseas with the bag and people ask about where the bag is from,” she said.
“I’ve had a really good response in the town. And making the bags is a great way to be part of the community.”
Mission Arts president Sally Moroney volunteered the community hub as a spot to conduct the sewing bee.
“This is a great activity which combines craftsmanship with a good sustainability theme,” she said.
“There has been quite a bit of interest.
“Being close to the beach we see a lot of the rubbish along the beach and see the problem with plastic bags around the town. A lot of the shops in Mission Beach are supporting a no bags policy.”
Same Same But Different boutique, the local supermarket and chemist have all pledged to stock the bags at their stores.
The sewing bee will run from 10am-2pm at the Mission Beach Community Arts Centre.
Those without experience are welcome.
A donation of $2 per person applies.
THIS IS A GREAT ACTIVITY WHICH COMBINES CRAFTSMANSHIP WITH A GOOD SUSTAINABILITY THEME SALLY MORONEY