“Plastic attack” to strike Galt street IGA next Sunday
Julie Beaulieu and Camille Auger are two members of a growing international movement concerned about the amount of unnecessary plastic the average consumer takes home from the grocery store. In an age where more and more alarm bells are being rung about the amount of plastic that is ending up in the world’s waterways, the concerned coconspirators are planning to hold a peaceful protest that has become known as a “plastic attack” at one of Sherbrooke’s larger grocery stores next Sunday with the aim of showing people just how much waste there is rolling around in shoppers’ carts.
“When you bring things home and unwrap maybe one or two items, you don’t stop to think about the big picture,” Beaulieu said, “our zucchini doesn’t need a Styrofoam tray or saran wrap, and by collecting these things together in one place, people will be able to see better how much is being thrown away every day.”
The plastic attack is an idea that has grown out of events in Europe and the idea is a simple one. Instead of unwrapping groceries at home, Beaulieu and Auger will have a station set up outside a store where shoppers can remove packaging that they do not consider important and leave it to collect in one place. On May 20th, the plastic attack group will set up outside of the IGA Chapdelaine at 775 Galt Street West between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.
“What we want at the end is an image, a clear sign of just how much plastic is being used,” the organizer said.
Sunday, May 13, the Missisquoi North Volunteer Centre (CABMN) held its Partage/share food bank Annual Mother’s Day Pancake Breakfast at the Baluchon School in Mansonville. The event started at 9:00am and the parking lot quickly filled with cars and supporters of the food bank program who ushered in to sample the pancakes, sausage and fresh fruit.
As part of the CABMN volunteer centre, the mandate of the Partage/share program and its committee is to help provide essential food and household consumables where need exists in the community. The committee collects food and money throughout the year for Christmas baskets and requests that come from the public in times of need.
Partage/share does not get any grants or financial assistance from the government therefore 100% of their funding comes from donations from individuals and businesses and events held annually like this one.
The Partage/share committee made up of: Charles Laurin, June Peacock, Claire Alger, Roger Gagne, Christian Donaldson and Jean Turner were all on hand throughout the event working to make it a success alongside volunteers. This dynamic group of individuals have brought an abundance of energy and involvement in the food bank program expanding its support to now include services of the “Banque Alimentaire Memphremagog” (BAM) program. To get more information about
Although the name for the activity is aggressive, Beaulieu underlined the fact that what is being attacked is the plastic and its place in society, not the IGA or any grocery store in particular. To emphasize that objective, she pointed out that she and Auger are inviting people to come do their regular shopping at the IGA that afternoon, boosting the store’s business in the name of promoting their environmental message.
“We want to be open and work with grocery stores, not against them,” the organizer said placing the core of the activity’s message on the environmental ethics of the store rather than its business practices. She noted that the national website for IGA highlights many examples of stores making moves to be more environmentally friendly and shared a hope that this kind of activity might spur the Sherbrooke location to join the movement.
Asked if the store had been made aware of the upcoming protest, Beaulieu said that she has sent an email to the owner but received no reply so far.
Beaulieu and Auger were inspired to organize a Sherbrooke attack after a Montreal-based group held one at a Provigo store in that city on May 6.
“We wanted to follow the wave,” Beaulieu said, “We want to keep people’s attention on the issue.”
The organizer shared that regardless of how the protest next weekend works out, she and Auger are already planning a follow-up activity at the new Avril store near the intersection of King Street and Highway 410 on June 2. That day, she explained, plastic attack protests will be taking place at stores all around the world.
One question that is still up in the air for the organizers of the event is who will be taking out the trash at the end. At the Montreal attack, Beaulieu said, Provigo took responsibility for the leftover plastic and the task of ensuring that it was disposed of responsibly. With no word back yet from the IGA, the organizers are preparing for the possibility that they will have to take the waste to the ecocentre themselves.
“We’ll see what happens,” Beaulieu said.
The organizers have set up a Facebook page about their event, which can be found at facebook.com/plasticattacksherbrooke/