Thames Ditton High Street’s Mission to Ban Plastic Bags  

Thames Ditton High Street is the FIRST in the UK to introduce an exciting new initiative designed to make plastic bags a thing of the past. Boomerang Bags is a community driven movement tackling plastic pollution at the grassroots level. It is HUGE in Australia – Boomerang Bags are made by volunteers in the community into shopping bags out of second-hand recyclable materials – cottons, linens etc - which are given to the public, FREE, for them to use instead of plastic bags.

The initiative launched at the June Farmers’ Market in the High Street on Saturday 24th June. For several months, the Thames Ditton Crafters team under the leadership of Jenny Avon has been busy sewing bags for a selection of shops in Thames Ditton High Street to give away free to customers to use as their every day shopping bag. Visitors to the Farmers’ Market saw members from the crafty group in action, sewing the Boomerang Bags from donated materials in a variety of sizes.

Driving the initiative forward, Jenny has teamed up with Tricia W. Bland, local Residents’ Association Councillor, and organizer of the Thames Ditton High Street Retailers’ Association to sign up the independent shops while galvanizing support from other community groups including schools, churches, Brownies & Guides and the local WI. On Farmers’ Market day, the Thames DItton High Street shops participating in the Boomerang Bags initiative made the bags available to the public for the first time. These stockists are identified by a window poster advising that the shop supports the Boomerang Thames Ditton Borrow & Reuse scheme.

‘The response from shops in Thames Ditton High Street has been incredibly positive’, says Tricia Bland. ‘So far seven outlets have signed up to stock the bags including Organic Nest organic food store, Secret Garden florist, Stitchery gifts, Nice Buns sandwich and bakery, Lime Tree deli and cafe, K Barber and View Art gallery. And as soon as we have more volunteer sewing bees on board we plan to extend the initiative further. Our ultimate aim is to make Thames Ditton High Street a plastic bag free zone!’

‘The beauty of the Thames Ditton Boomerang Borrow & Reuse bag initiative is that there is absolutely NO COST to the stockist – i.e. shop, business or cafe. We just need those who agree to support the scheme to hand out a free Borrow & Reuse bag to customers who forget to bring a reusable shopping bag plus put a small poster in their shop window flagging up their support. When the stockist runs out of the Borrow & Reuse bags these will be replaced, hand made by the Thames Ditton Crafters volunteer team and other community groups’.

‘The Borrow & Reuse bags, made out of donated re-usable/recyclable/biodegradable fabric, are extremely attractive and carry a small logo: BOOMERANG THAMES DITTON BORROW & REUSE. Going forward we be will asking residents to donate fabric and sewing materials, they no longer need to the Boomerang Bag collection point at the George & Dragon in the High Street’.

If anyone would like to join the Boomerang community in Thames Ditton then please contact either Tricia or Jenny.  Prospective sewing bees will be supplied with a ‘sewing kit’ with simple to follow instructions and everything necessary to make the Boomerang Thames Ditton Borrow & Reuse bags.

Further information:

  Tricia W. Bland:  tdwgra@the-blands.co.uk

  Jenny Avon:  jenny_avon@live.com