The Boomerang Bags movement has landed in Saanich, and a dedicated group of grass roots volunteers are hoping it will stay.
The idea takes the reusable grocery or shopping bag approach to the next level, with a goal of eliminating the need for plastic bags.
Pepper’s Foods in Cadboro Bay is the first Greater Victoria store to sign up for the program, and Boomerang Bags co-founder Natalie Harper expects the bins and bags will be available at the store next week. The model is based on volunteers who make bags from discarded materials. The bags are available in a bin at stores, where shoppers pick up or drop off, Harper said.
“Launching at Pepper’s is huge,” she said. “We’re really excited about that and working hard to get other stores involved.”
The initiative first caught Harper’s eye a couple of months ago when she saw a video on Facebook. Boomerang Bags was launched in Australia in 2013 by Tania Potts and Jordyn de Boer. Determined to help eliminate the use of disposable shopping bags, the two came up with the concept.
“I was feeling pretty helpless at the time about my role in helping take care of our planet,” Harper explained. “I thought Boomerang Bags would be a great way to be part of a positive a change.”
More than 200 communities are on board with the program, she added.
“Tania and Jordyn were just great in helping us get started here (in the Capital Region), providing lots of information and supplying the logos.”
Boomerang Bags Victoria co-founder, Trish Tacoma, the owner of the Smoking Lily Boutique, helped with the silk screening as well, said Harper, a Victoria resident who works part-time as a recreational instructor.
“Getting [Tacoma] on board was huge.”
Harper has enlisted the help of about 100 volunteers who make the bags and handle repairs, replacement and picking them up for regular cleaning from the bins at the stores that get involved in the program.
Peppers general manager Cory Davits said the biggest problem with reusable bags is that many people forget to bring them.
“Having them right by the door takes care of that on the way in or out of the store,” Davits said. “It’s a great way to reduce the use of plastic or paper bags, and it’s a great way to help the planet.”
Check out boomerangbags.com, or email boomerangvictoria@gmail.com for more information.
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