It’s In The Bag!

Photos by Einav Olswang

How ingenious youngsters got to grips with their grocery store's plastic problem 

The young people of the world today are taking the lead in the fight to save the environment. They have grown disillusioned with the lack of action displayed by their parents' generation and are thinking of ways not only of awakening world leaders to the imminent dangers posed by society's lack of interest and inaction, but also looking for ways in which they can physically make a difference. They know that there are actions that can be taken, and in small but significant ways they can change the way we live our lives.

In my own family, my granddaughters decided to take on the problem of plastic bags being handed out in their local grocery store. They salvaged old and worn out sheets that were about to be discarded, created a pattern, cut them up to size and using a simple sewing machine they sewed together a large pile of bright and colorful carrier bags with corded handles.

They then created an eye-catching notice board announcing their free carrier bags on offer in the grocery store and encouraging people to take them and use and re-use them when shopping for their daily groceries. They also called on people to contact them with any ideas that they could use to further their goals of cleaning up the environment. 

The owners of the shop were happy to install the bags and the notice board at the shop entrance.

Their efforts were crowned with success. Shoppers loved the idea and the bags quickly disappeared from the shelf and were used and reused as was intended.

The girls’ notice board in the grocery store

But this is not the end of the story…

Two weeks later, when shopping at the grocery store, the family was thrilled to find that their notice board had been set up outside the door of the shop, and next to it was a large container filled with carrier bags of different shapes and sizes. The shop owners had understood the idea so well, and the shoppers were so keen to continue with the project that they happily contributed bags to the collection for the general use of anyone needing to carry home their groceries.

And so a very tiny percent less of plastic entered the environment. 

See a short video clip of how the girls created and installed their bags