Vinnies saves 50,000 plastic bags in three months

Vinnies on the North Coast has come on board with phasing out single-use plastic bags and removed them frothier shops on January 1 this year and have saved around 50,000 plastic bags from going into circulation in the last three months.

‘From the start of this year our shop volunteers have been asking people to either bring their own bags or to buy one of the Vinnies-branded cloth bags that are on sale. The proceeds from these bags will also be used to assist local people in need,’ said Kim Boyd, the Society’s north coast retail operations manager.

All 28 Vinnies shops in the region have ended plastic bag use and the eco-friendly policy applies to St Vincent de Paul Society’s retail outlets between Tweed Heads in the north and Laurieton in the south, including the new shop in Bellingen that opened recently.

‘Vinnies is pleased to be in the forefront of the push to end plastic bag use in retail outlets, and welcomes recent moves by major businesses to follow suit,’ Kim said.

‘Vinnies shops have an environmental focus on the rescue and re-use of quality clothing and household items that might otherwise go to landfill. Providing good value to customers is the other part of the equation.

‘Each year Vinnies recycles and reprocesses hundreds of tonnes of clothing and sundry goods that

would otherwise be wasted. Along with helping the environment this earns precious funds to assist

people doing it tough in our region.

‘The move away from plastic bags reflects our commitment to being good environmental citizens of the North Coast,’ Kim Boyd added.

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