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Isle of Wight: Ventbag project

Almost in the bag for project

By Lori Little - Friday, August 15, 2008
THE Ventbag project, which aims by next month to make the town the first in the country to be plastic bag free, believes more than 90 per cent of the town’s shops are now behind the scheme.
Mark Compton-Hall, a Ventbag founder, said the project took a leap forward when Somerfield decided, across the country, to give out plastic carriers on request only, rather than having them freely available.
He said the national chains had previously been the hardest to persuade to commit to the scheme.
“Ventnor is very close to being plastic carrier bag free, now Somerfield is on board. We are absolutely delighted the biggest supplier of plastic bags in the town has decided to offer them only on demand.
“We are really making headway.”
An eco-friendly alternative to plastic bags are being made in another Ventbag scheme, using unsold copies of the County Press.
The bags will help raise cash for the Island voluntary groups and organisations that decide to make and sell them.