Plastic pushback

After countless exhibitions, trade shows and markets, Ironworks Distillery owner Lynne Mackay remembers being fed up.

In the distilling business, it is common practice to offer samples in single-use plastic cups.

However, these days, you’ll not find any of these cups in Mackay’s business.

“It’s almost like I had a little bit of an epiphany,” she said.

She was done with plastic and now her business, along with several others in Lunenburg, are moving away from single-use plastics.

Mackay’s first step in combating plastic was replacing the sample cups with a compostable paper one.

She lovingly refers to them as her “ugly cups.”

“There’s nothing attractive about getting a sample in this kind and I’m kind of proud of that,” said Mackay.

She added that she doesn’t mind considering these new cups are environmentally responsible and cheaper than their plastic predecessors.

But Mackay and her co-owner and husband Pierre Guevremont didn’t stop there.

Working in conjunction with community groups like Plastic Free Lunenburg, Mackay has helped ensure that festivals like Spirited Away are plastic-free.

“That’s it, no plastics. We alerted everybody who came to the event,” explained Mackay,