Coles and Landcare initiative have launched an initiative to encourage customers to replace plastic bags with reusable bags.

Customers are invited to round up any used or discarded plastic shopping bags they can find, and place them in new recycling bins in all Coles stores nationwide. Not only will this help the environment by keeping plastic bags out of landfill and waterways, it will raise money for Junior Landcare in the process.

Schools, businesses and individuals can register online at http://juniorlandcarechallenge.com/Coles/bags.htm to participate in the Plastic Bag Challenge, which runs until Friday, 16 October. There are prizes to be won for the most bags collected.

Coles General Manager for Customer Service, Sioned Rees-Thomas, said last year’s plastic bag amnesty received a strong response from schools and customers Australia-wide, so the idea of a challenge seemed a natural next step: “Last year’s Plastic into Plants program was highly successful. Schools were actually telling us how many bags they collected and this is where the idea to create a challenge came from,” Ms Rees-Thomas said. “The challenge is a fun and engaging way for everyone to get involved in improving the environment,” added
Ms Rees-Thomas.

Coles will donate all proceeds from recycling the bags brought to its stores during the challenge to Junior Landcare and the Coles School Gardens Grants Program. Coles has funded the Coles School Garden Grants Program in partnership with Junior Landcare since
2008. This has enabled funding for over 450 schools around Australia to establish native, waterwise and vegetable gardens as part of their environmental studies.

Landcare National Projects Development and Grant Manager, Sheena Martin, said she was grateful to Coles for its support and was looking forward to the Plastic Bag Challenge. “An alarming 7,000 recyclable plastic bags are thrown away every minute in Australia, amounting to more than 420,000 dumped in landfill every hour. Hopefully the Plastic Bag Challenge and the work Coles is doing to provide reusable options will help to educate people about the alternatives and the importance of recycling,” Ms Martin said.

The launch of the Plastic Bag Challenge coincides with the release of a new Natural Bag this month at Coles, which is made from natural fibres and available in stores for $2.99 each. Coles will donate 10c from each Natural Bag to support Junior Landcare and the development of community bush tucker gardens, maintaining the tradition of indigenous Australians.

Visit the Coles Plastic Bag Challenge http://juniorlandcarechallenge.com/Coles/bags.htm to watch the bag tally grow.

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