SPAR joins fight to put an end to plastic-bag pollution
SPAR Eastern Cape took a bold step yesterday by saying “no” to plastic bags in a bid to raise consciousness about the danger of pollution to the environment and sea life in particular.
Coupled with a vision of helping to fight pollution in the long term, all SPARs in the region will from today implement paper bags and other shopping bags.
SPAR has urged customers to trade in any 10 plastic bags for one paper bag for the next two days – in a bid to encourage a consciousness around minimising the use of plastics.
“We sell millions of plastic bags every year and whenever we drive in the Eastern Cape there is plastic and if we look at what it does to our landfills, oceans and rivers, it is unacceptable and I am responsible,” regional managing director Conrad Isaac said at the launch of the campaign at The Boardwalk Convention Centre last night.
“I play a big part in the damage we are causing our environment and so we have to go out there and fix it. We decided to do something about it, [and] our retailers across the Eastern Cape have decided to do something about it.
“We are not sure how quickly this is going to happen, but we have had enough of senseless use of plastic bags and we start this journey today by giving people the options of using alternative bags and we are hoping we can change their shopping habits,” he said.
Zwartkops Conservancy environmental officer Jenny Rump said the problem with litter was people’s behaviour towards it.
“We are very passionate about fighting for the estuary and the nursery of fishes found in the Swartkops because we are the eleventh-most important estuary in the country and that is worth saving. “The amount of pollution that turns up there and endangers our wildlife is unbelievable, destroying not only the beauty but affecting the sea creatures.
“SPAR’s move to stop plastic bags is fantastic and it will help people realise that there is an alternative available.”