A new community group has been formed with the single purpose of eliminating single use plastic bags in Manly by 2017.  What a great goal!

It takes a village - to go plastic bag free. 
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That's the strategy powering community group Plastic Free Manly  towards their ambitious environmental  goals.  The grassroots organisation has set 2017 - next year - as their target to rid Manly of single use plastic bags. 

Because social change only happens  if everyone is on side, the environmentalists are talking to as many groups as possible, ranging from school children and their families to local businesses and large corporate entities. 

For the children there are family activity sheets and the story of Gertie the Turtle who swallowed a plastic bag and almost died. For businesses there is support for a transition away from plastic, and publicity to nudge shoppers into doing the right thing. Plastic Free Manly already has the support of more than 40 local retailers, Northern Beaches Council and Manly Chamber of Commerce. They are also working with grocery giant Coles on a local plastic reduction campaign. 

The need is pressing. Every day ten million new plastic bags are used by Australian shoppers.  And the plastic in every one of them takes hundreds of  years to break down. 

"Manly is special," former Manly councillor and Good For Manly president Candy Bingham said.  "It's a village community, and it's full of people who care passionately about our oceans, wildlife and bush. We already have campaigns like Plastic Free July, which Good For Manly helped to introduce to Manly last year, and now this terrific  group of women are taking it to a whole new level."

Plastic Free Manly is run entirely by volunteers. To join their team and receive training as a Business Engagement Warrior or digital marketer, or just to find out more, please click the link below. 

​http://www.plasticfreemanly.org

It is supposed to be a pleasant plaza with the library at its core (attracting some 35,000 visitors a month) and a variety of shops and cafes spreading out into the laneway.

Instead it has became the home to 41 garbage bins, permanently stored at the back of the shops, including 16 bins belonging to the recently refurshied New Ivanhoe Hotel - it's a disgrace.

The rules are that shop-owners either have a garbage room or are required to keep their bins on their premises, except when a collection is due. 

In addition, each morning  this so-called pedestrian-shared zone becomes ''dodge the garbage trucks'.  With three commercial contractors AND the Council truck collecting rubbish typically at  9 - 10am most mornings.

A motion moved by Clr Candy Bingham was passed at the April Council meeting that a Management Plan would be created to address the issue.

Do you visit this area? What do you think?  See Good for Manly's vision for this area here.

It was concerning to read recently that Manly Cove has become the rubbish tip of Sydney Harbour. Rubbish from as far away as Bondi and Roseville is being found in the waters offshore.

Currents in Sydney Harbour collect debris and bring it to Manly, especially when a southerly hits. Recent storms highlighted the problem with Manly Cove thick with debris and rubbish knee-deep on the beaches. Parking tickets from the Eastern Suburbs were found amongst the accumulated mess, providing clear evidence of the problem.

According to Silke Stuckenbrock, local Narrabeen resident and co-founder of the Two Hands Project, people need to change their thinking about plastics and where they end up. “Plastic stays around for centuries. We have noticed that every mammal that gets washed up dead on to the shore has plastic in its system – it’s a very serious problem”, she says.

What do you think we can do to keep Manly clean?

Go to http://www.twohandsproject.org/ to find out how you can help.