“Lauree is making sew many bags!”
Boomerang Bags for Taranaki Enviroschools began in March 2017, before the New Zealand-wide plastic bag ban was launched. The project was introduced in Taranaki by Enviroschools Regional Coordinator Lauree Jones, to extend on the Enviroschools Theme Area of Zero Waste.
Boomerang Bags are reusable bags that volunteers create, and the community uses then returns for another shopper to use.
“It’s a little bit like taking your own reusable cup to a coffee shop and getting it refilled, or using your own water bottle,” Lauree says, “They’re all very similar concepts.”
Initially, the schools were using material and old clothes destined for landfill. These included curtains and other op shop sourced fabric. Taranaki has given all these remnants a new lease on life in the form of reusable bags.
St Pius School student Frankie modelling her bag.
Since inception, a large number of Taranaki schools and kindergartens have championed this initiative by making bags for foodbank, Kai Kitchen, resthomes, Riding for the Disabled and more. The bags are also used for school library bags, assembly award bags, and new student information bags. Taranaki now has a number of shops giving these bags out to their customers. Many bags have stories attached or written on them.
The community has also gotten onboard the reusable bag creation wagon by donating large amounts of material, holding sewing bees, sewing at home, teaching people to sew, and supporting school students to learn a skill.
The number of schools integrating this cause into their curriculum has been impressive. Word has gotten around and even non-Enviroschools are reaching out to replicate this move.
“We are having wonderful success sewing at St Pius school – we have already had 18 student volunteers spend their lunchtime helping us out and we have several more still waiting for their turn! We even managed to spend a session focusing on upcycling, and made some bags out of pre-loved jeans and curtains from a charity shop. The kids are having such a fabulous time they don’t even realise they are doing a lot of learning!” – Wendi Langman, St Pius School.
With the plastic bag ban in full swing, there are plenty of individuals, schools and kindergartens regularly making Boomerang Bags. As of the end of 2019, there are over 4,500 Taranaki Enviroschools reusable bags out in the community. To become involved in Boomerang Bags for Taranaki Enviroschools, contact Lauree Jones.
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