BBC Breakfast Bags

Our guerrilla bags project was featured on BBC Breakfast today, with me (Liz) on the sewing machine in a corner of Television Centre to show how easy it is to create something that does so much good in so little time. Whilst I doubt that I was using green energy for the creation of those 6 bags, the impact that they had is more than worth it. We got a wonderful comment on our previous blog entry abou the bags project, inspiring a textiles teacher to use the idea in her classroom, and 1000s of hits were generated on www.morsbags.com - the site for guerrilla bagging.

Guerrilla bags

Camden FoE has always looked out for ways to engage people on the street in discussions about the environment, but often actions speak louder than words. So, when we wanted to challenge people's use of plastic bags we wanted to offer a practical solution. We're concerned about the use of these bags as they kill millions of animals, cause floods, fill the remaining landfill sites and litter cities, countryside and oceans alike.


We've been making bags from old material (old dresses, curtains, duvet covers, and a couple of Steve's shirts) and giving them out on the street to encourage people to give up plastic bags for good. Today we gave out about 40 and got 50 plastic bags in return.

It was shocking to see the amount of plastic given out unnecessarily by shops - Woolworths had provided one shopper with 2 bags - 1 for a bottle of hair product and one for a (plastic-wrapped) birthday card.

Unfortunately we can't make people never use plastic again, but we will have got people thinking about why they should avoid using them, and everyone we asked agreed that there should be a ban or a tax on bags to help reduce their use.

- In the UK we use an average of 290 bags a year, and 1.2 trillion are used worldwide
- On average we use each bag for about 12 minutes before disposing of them
- Ireland's 15p PlasTax has resulted in a 90% reduction in use of plastic bags since its introduction in 2002
- In 2002 Bangladesh became the first country to ban plastic bags. A movement against them began in the 1980s in Dhaka, where bags were found to clog drains in the monsoon rains, causing flooding. Since then plastic bags have been banned in countries such as Rwanda, Tanzania and in the UK they've been banned from Modbury (Devon).

Supermarkets are saying that they will cut usage, but so far we've seen very little meaningful action. It is not enough to have the odd plastic-free day, and bags for life are still made of plastic. In fact, the plastic bag industry are using the harm done by these longer-lasting bags as a way of arguing against the implementation of a tax on plastic bags in the UK. As for promises regarding the introduction of degradable bags - consumers need to be aware that 'degradable' bags are not the same as biodegradable. They break down into smaller and smaller pieces which contaminate earth, waterways and oceans.








Some of our happy customers saying 'No' to plastic bags

If you want to make your own bag go to www.morsbags.com, even better make one for a friend as well. We were surprised how much we've enjoyed this project - working together to make these bags has resulted in some group members learning new skills, a lot of laughs, and some great job satisfaction. But if sewing really isn't your bag (pun completely intended) you can get really useful bags at www.onyabags.co.uk or something a bit more glamorous at Cheeky Leopard.

Eco Wars!

The Camden New Journal reported on 10 May of an Eco War breaking out in the borough. We've taken the bait and dived in to the melee.

The supposed war concerns plans by the Council's Sustainability TaskForce to revolutionise energy supply and demand in the borough, by supporting local energy generating stations in housing estates.

But at the same time the Council's Planning Department has refused a local resident planning permission to put solar panels on his roof, because his house is in a conservation area, where the look of the houses must be maintained at all costs.

Both Camden Friends of the Earth and Camden Greenpeace responded to the CNJ's article. Here is our letter, with comments about energy efficiency being more important edited out by the CNJ:

IT'S not often we can take heart from war breaking out, and yet here we are in Camden with different groups vying to be the greenest! (Eco War Declared, May 10).
Camden Friends of the Earth supports Councillor Alexis Rowell’s intentions to push Camden into the forefront of green councils. We support what is called de-centralised energy generation. This includes the combined heat and power systems for housing estates that Cllr Rowell mentions.
What we believe is more important, however, is a move away from dependency on other people to supply energy, and a positive move towards each home producing its own energy.
We recognise that there are barriers to changing our energy use habits. Cost is one: solar water heating, solar cells and rooftop wind turbines can be expensive.
But one of the biggest barriers is the planning system. There remains a tension between the policies that protect London’s best architecture, and the more important and urgent need to drastically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.
When we think of the tension between conservation and tackling climate change it is often incumbent on groups like ours to frame the issues non-politically. In this case: do your readers want old, inefficient, but nice looking houses with unadorned, uninsulated roofs greedily using energy, while householders swelter in another summer scorcher, and find that crops have failed again raising prices for staple foods like potato (and coffee for most Londoners), that there is a drought order in place for the fifth year running, and water is being tankered in to London?
Or, do we allow householders to sensitively adapt the look of their houses, even in conservation areas, to fight against this future?
You quote Cllr Rowell’s plans to supply an eco-audit for each of Camden’s homes. This service is already available – the council has been funding it for years.
If you call [0]800 512 012 the North London Energy Efficiency Advice Centre can guide you through the easiest and most cost effective options.
GRAEME MAUGHAN
Co-ordinator, Camden Friends of the Earth