26 Apr 2008 - Plastic Bag Trawl

A trawl for litter in the River Don and its banks by supporters of  the Penistone Carry-a-Bag Campaign found 112 plastic carrier bags and 20 bin bags full of other waste which mostly comprised other plastic waste from about 300 metres of the river at Springvale (pictures attached and below).

The group organised the trawl for litter on Saturday afternoon with the support of Barnsley MBC’s Neighbourhood Pride team who provide bags, litter pickers and gloves. 

Plastic carrier bags made up at least a sixth of the plastic waste collected although some had been in the environment so long its origin could not be determined. Plastic carriers from nearly all the major retailers trading in the area were found.  The rest of the plastic waste was commercial packaging, plastic bottles and cups and some plastics used on farms.  Cans, bottles and fragments of insulation materials were also picked up.

The Penistone Carry-a-Bag campaign is working with the local community and retailers to cut down the use of free, one-trip carrier bags in Penistone.  The campaign will be launched in the summer.  Every household in the district will receive a free cloth bag to use instead of plastic carrier bags. The bags will provide free the Co-operative Group.  Support has also come from Barnsley MBC Waste Management, Penistone and District Community Partnership, Penistone Town Council, Barnsley Primary Care Trust, Barnsley Hospice and Michael Clapham MP.  Nine out of ten residents and most of Penistone’s retailers are backing the Campaign.

Commenting Helen Fryers of the campaign said:

“We were all shocked by the sheer volume of plastic we found in the river and along the banks.  Plastic carrier bags were frequent amongst the litter we picked up. A lot had started to break up but fragments of plastic are just as big a problem for wildlife in rivers and the sea as whole bags.  The only solution is to prevent them entering the environment in the first place.  Cutting down on unnecessary use of carrier bags is an important first step in reducing the threat to wildlife and cutting out this gross waste of resources. We want to encourage the whole community to support the campaign and we are very pleased with the reaction with have received so far”.