From EnviroWiki
Bring Your Own Bag N16
nB: In April 2009 Bring Your Own Bag N16's website went down. If you know whether or not they are still functioning, please contact speckl.
Bring Your Own Bag N16 is made up of a group of local people in Stoke Newington, backed by Hackney Council, campaigning to rid Stoke Newington of plastic bags, and encourage the reuse of all existing bags.
London Council leaders approved a Bill in November that will seek to ban plastic bags in the future. The Prime Minister has also promised to rid Britain of plastic bags.
Rather than sitting around for years, waiting for this to happen, we've decided to follow in the footsetps of Modbury and get on with it ourselves.
About Us
We are a group of local residents, seeking to rid Stoke Newington of plastic bags once and for all. Furthermore, we wish promote the reuse of all carrier bags.
The campaign started in July, inspired by Modbury in Devon that declared their town plastic bag free from 1 May 2007.
On Saturday 17th November 2007 we took to Church Street to do a quick survey to find out shoppers’ views and to encourage shoppers to bring their own bags. People were so keen for a plastic bag free Stoke Newington that, in a brief hour, 193 people put down their names in support.
On Saturday 17th May 2008, we took to church street again. This time we held a Plastic Bag Amensty event to raise awareness of our campaign. Local shoppers crowded round our stall to swap their plastic shopping bags for a free reusable cloth one, provided by Hackney Council.
The whole stock of 500 cloth bags were given out and people were queuing for more. Diane Abbott MP and Mischa Borris (Hackney Green party councillor) both turned up to help.
We are supporting the work that Hackney Council is doing on minimising waste and are now looking to the businesses of Stokey to hear their say.
Get Involved
Want to help us in our campaign?
There are loads of ways you can get involved...
- ...bring your own bag by getting yourself some re-useable bags to cut down your plastic emmissions. For a list of places to get these bags in the N16 area, click here.
- ...email us at getinvolved@byob-n16.org.uk to join our mailing list and receive campaign updates direct to your inbox.
- ...join in the debate by having a look at our blog for the latest rants and ravings of the byob team. Look out for postings announcing events organised by us.
Alternatively, raise awareness by
- ...saying no to plastic bags when offered.
- ...have a chat with your local shop keeper and ask their opinion on plastic bags. They don't need to wait for the ban to stop giving them out!
- ...download the action pack found on our website (4.3 Mb) which contains posters, flyers and leaflets which you are free to distribute.
For more information, visit www.byob-n16.org.uk.
