Sew many bags still needed

In their constant fight against plastic, the Albany Boomerang Bags group has sewn more than 8000 reusable fabric bags in the past two years, but they still cannot keep up with local demand.

Founder Lynne Smith said the group was supplying bags to 19 shops across the region, including supermarkets such as Woolworths.

Due to high demand, Ms Smith said the group was struggling to maintain supply.

“We’ve had 120 volunteers working with us in the last two years but we don’t have regular volunteers to keep up with continuous demand,” she said.

“We got six regular volunteers continually — but the rest comes and goes.”

Ms Smith said she was working with fewer volunteers than she was last year, when the State Government introduced a ban on single-use plastic bags.

“I think everyone still wants to contribute and do something for the environment, but the interest isn’t there as much as it was any more,” she said.

“The whole concept — buying things in plastic — I believe people are more aware of it now. But from our point of view, we do see less volunteers now.”

Despite struggling to keep up with demand, Ms Smith said the group had received positive feedback from the community and the group’s work had been featured in the City of Albany community calendar.

She said she hoped the group would be able to attract more volunteers this year.