Week-long spotlight on environment

TOTNES is hosting a week of activities to show the town really has got the battle to go green in the bag.

Transition Town Totnes, the organisation dedicated to finding sustainable ways of living in the face of dwindling energy sources, is organising Bag Week in the town.

During next week, November 16 to 21, the organisation will be hosting a film night and organising workshops aimed at highlighting the problems of plastic carrier bags and their impact on the environment.

"Every year 13billion plastic bags are given away in the UK alone.

"Their production and disposal adds to CO2 emissions, pollution problems and threaten our wildlife," said Totnes' Green town councillor Jacqi Hodgson who is co-ordinating the week's events.

She added: "It is senseless to keep adding to the problem of plastic waste, when we can easily make the choice to refuse a new bag and bring our own."

During Bag Week the transition town group will be asking shoppers to take their own bag with them or invest in a reusable bag.

They will also be asking shops to request a charitable donation for plastic bags.

Friends of the Earth will be joining in by highlighting the excessive use of plastic bottles for water.

The film night is on Thursday, November 19, and will involve the showing of the Story of Stuff, followed by Message in the Waves, a short but poignant film about over-consumption, followed by a brief open discussion with refreshments.

Message in the Waves is the award winning film which won over the people of Modbury to become the first Plastic Bag Free town in the UK.

On Saturday, November 21, Transition Town Totnes will be hosting a workshop 'Bags of Change — New Patterns for Waste' where people can come and make their own bag.

"The aim of the workshop is to stitch together an inspired view of waste.

"Come and join the conversation while you make something useful.

"It's a small beginning we can all make," said Lyn Simmons, who will be running the workshop at Birdwood House from 10am to 3pm.

"This is really a celebration of how we can be resourceful and make good use of waste — all part of our transition from a high energy lifestyle and throw-away society towards the energy descent we need," said Jacqi Hodgson.

Anyone who wants to host an event during Bag Week can contact Jacqi or Lou on 01803 867358.

Information about the event is being posted on the TTT calendar at www.transitiontowns.org/Totnes