Nelson's Boomerang Bags are ready to go - and then come back again

Wednesday, 25 October 2017

Boomerang Bags were first announced in April, and now they're ready to hit the shops.

Lani Bee, the local organiser of this global movement, worked tirelessly with a team of volunteers to turn donated fabric destined for the landfill into reusable bags which can be borrowed from shops.

In eight months, they have made 282 bags, but Bee hopes they will hit their target of 300 before the official launch at the Isel Park Twilight Market on Thursday.

Bee said there had been 'a fantastic response' to the idea. 

When she first started organising the project, Bee said she was told not to worry about who would use the bags.

'They said; 'just make the bags … and the businesses will come to you'.'

This proved true: about eight businesses in the Nelson area asked for the bags before any were even made.

'Once we launch, people will want them in their stores,' Bee said.

'The timing is perfect, because we've been working on this for months, and then the supermarkets now have got on board and said they're going to rule out plastic.'

James Walker, Countdown's general manager of corporate affairs, said that Countdown was looking at a few different options to replace plastic bags. He said Countdown had been 'engaging with a number of community bag organisations,' including Boomerang Bags, and the business would be 'happy to have a chat' with Lani Bee.

The bags are made by volunteers from donated material, often things from op-shops which can't be sold.

'They're made from things like old pillowcases and duvets and sheets which have got marks or holes,' Bee said. 'They just go straight to the landfill, but we take them and use what we can, so it saves landfill too.'

Boomerang Bags started in Australia in 2013, but has spread to almost 500 locations worldwide. The combined global effort has made more than 100,000 reusable bags.