Published date: 6 October 2015

Pick up a free reusable bag from shops across north London

Following the Government’s decision to implement a 5p plastic bag charge in large shops from today (5 October), North London Waste Authority is now running its ‘Bag It Up + Reuse’ project in small shops across North London.

 
The project aims to reduce the number of plastic carrier bags that are thrown away by offering customers the chance to exchange a used plastic bag with a reusable one.  Customers who get into the habit of using reusable bags can avoid the 5p charge by using these bags in large or small shops.  

 

21 retailers across north London, enthusiastic about spreading the message of waste prevention, have been given 250 reusable bags each to give out to their customers in return for their old plastic ones.

When the project was first run in January 2015, around 5000 plastic bags were swapped for reusable ones.  For this October’s campaign, it is hoped this number will be exceeded. If just 1% of north London households start using reusable bags as a

result of the project, then 7.7 tonnes of waste could be diverted from disposal in a year.

Councillor Clyde Loakes, Chair of NLWA, comments: “This is a great project to encourage residents to use reusable bags instead of plastic ones.  I hope many residents will take up the opportunity to visit one of the local retailers taking part in this project and I thank those businesses for taking part in such an innovative project.” 

Residents can get their reusable bag from one of the participating shops across north London:

Barnet

Yarok Wholesale & Retail, 117 Golders Green Road, London, NW11 8HR

Tony's Continental, 140 High Rd, East Finchley, N2 9ED

Amici Delicatessen, 78 High Road, East Finchley, N2 9PN



Camden

Amici Delicatessen, 78 High Road, East Finchley, N2 9PN 

Pomona Foods, 179 Haverstock Hill, Belsize Park, NW3 4QS

Prince of Wales Supermarket, 19 Prince of Wales Road, London, NW5 3LH



Enfield

Pure Health, 315 Chase Road, Southgate, N14 5PA

Krishna News, 111 Ordnance Road, Enfield Lock, EN3 6AG

Difrancesco's, 71-73 Ordnance Road, Enfield Lock, EN3 6AG



Hackney

Ship of Adventures, 138 Kingsland High Street, London, E8 2NS

Old Dalston Cafe, 16 Stoke Newington Road, London, N16 7XN

Paramount Fruiters, 122 Stoke Newington High St, London, N16 7NY

Yogi News and Wine, 128 Stoke Newington High St, London, N16 7NY



Haringey

Poziomka, 51 Grand Parade, Green Lanes, London, N4 1AG

Harringay Local Store, 581c Green Lanes, London, N8 0RG

The Harvest, 69 Tottenham Lane, London, N8 9DE



Islington

An apple a day, 621 Holloway Road, London, N19 5SS

Junction Pets, 71 Junction Road, Archway, N19 5QU

Express Shop, 693 Holloway Road, London, N19 5SE



Waltham Forest

International Food Centre, 558 High Road Leytonstone, London, E11 3DH

Acheason Dispensing Chemist, 273 High Road Leytonstone, London, E11 4HH

William Morris Gallery, Lloyd Park, Forest Road, London, E17 4PP

wise up to waste photo 

If plastic carrier bags are disposed of in landfill sites they may take hundreds of years to break down. Bags can also end up as litter in the countryside, rivers or the sea, where they can pose a particular threat to wildlife. 



The plastic bags collected by the local shops will be used in an art installation to further spread the message about waste prevention and then recycled.

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