A grassroots move towards more sustainable materials for everyday consumer activities is growing at Dubbo.
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Committed volunteers are in talks about making shopping bags locally from recycled materials.
It is a project of a new group bringing together members from Dubbo Macquarie River Bushcare, Mid-Macquarie Landcare and beyond.
It’s another front in the war on waste, with the bushcare group recently encouraging Dubbo consumers to ditch single-use coffee cups.
Bushcare volunteer Melissa Gray said a group of five like-minded people from Wellington and Dubbo had met on Thursday to talk about starting the shopping bags initiative.
She said the talks had been fruitful and she expected they would be asking the community for donations of materials soon.
Ms Gray said reducing plastics in the Macquarie River was a core principle of both Dubbo Macquarie River Bushcare and Mid-Macquarie Landcare.
The volunteer also reported positive feedback to the recent call for people to switch to reusable coffee cups.
Ms Gray estimated by taking her own cup to cafes she had in the past four years saved about 800 single-use containers from going to landfill, or worse, washing into local waterways.
During a recent trip to the markets, a vendor had told her lots of people had been bringing in their own cup in what looked like a new trend, Ms Gray reported.
Social media reaction to the call Ms Gray made in the Daily Liberal had also been positive, she said.
It’s just about people wanting to make a change, it’s not that hard.
- Dubbo Macquarie River Bushcare volunteer Libby McIntyre
“The feedback has been really great and the cafes are noticing,” she said.
Fellow bushcare volunteer Libby McIntyre also takes a reusable cup to cafes and her regular spot offers patrons who brought a reusable cup a discount.
Ms McIntyre said it was a shame not all cafes were prepared to do that because the saving was an incentive and showed the cafe owner was committed.
She was convinced individuals could make a difference.
It was just a matter of remembering to take a reusable cup and reusable shopping bags, she said.
“It doesn’t take long, people just need to do it,” Ms McIntyre said.
“It’s just about people wanting to make a change, it’s not that hard.”
A Daily Liberal poll showed more than four-fifths of readers who took part would limit their use of single-use containers.
Of the 103 people who responded within a week, 84 said they would move to reduce their use of disposable cups.
The Dubbo Visitors Information Centre has also moved on board the campaign against waste.
In a post to social media, the centre said it stocked reusable coffee cups - complete with the Dubbo smile.