By Kyra Gillespie
In a bid to eliminate single-use plastic bags, volunteers from Garfield and surrounds have taken part in Boomerang Bags.
Boomerang Bags is a worldwide movement combating plastic pollution by promoting sustainability.
Getting together at the Garfield Uniting Church Hall, local volunteers from all walks of life get together weekly to collect pre-loved fabric and turn it into reusable bags.
The handcrafted bags will be gifted to local community organisations upon completion.“Through Boomerang Bags we start conversations, make friends, repurpose, divert waste, and work towards shifting society’s throwaway mentality to a more sustainable revolution of reuse – one community needle and thread at a time,” Garfield participant Helen Davey said.
“Each bag is handmade by volunteers from the local community using donated, second-hand materials, keeping the initiative local and sustainable.
“They can be used as a means to start conversations, raise awareness and provide an alternative to plastic bags.”
Boomerang Bags was founded and piloted in Burleigh Heads in 2014.
It’s now being rolled out in over 750 communities worldwide.
Collectively, the initiative has resulted in the creation of over 200,000 bags, diverting over 60 tonnes of waste from landfill.
