Colourful, in-your-face reminders to BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag) will be posted in front of major retail outlets in downtown Sooke.
The initiative of the citizen’s group Zero Waste Sooke reminds shoppers to grab their canvas bags when leaving their cars. Despite the best of intentions, many remember them only when asked if we want plastic or paper at the check-out counter.
Designed by Sooke’s Zach Ogilvie and printed by Sooke Signs, the signs are slated for the front pillars at Home Hardware, Pharmasave, Village Foods and Western Foods.
“We’re delighted at how readily the idea was received by the retailers we approached,” said Zero Waste’s Jo Phillips. “As responsible corporate citizens, they’re as troubled by plastic waste and environmental pollution as everyone else.”
The signs were delivered recently during Waste Reduction Week in Sooke, proclaimed by Mayor Maja Tait and synched up with an annual awareness campaign organized by recycling organizations across Canada.
Zero Waste Sooke also celebrated Waste Reduction Week with its second Repair Cafe at the Community Hall on Oct. 21.
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The Transition Sooke working group meets on the third Wednesday of the month at the Sooke Library from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Everyone is invited to attend these friendly, low-key gatherings. The Nov. 15 meeting will feature a participatory learning workshop on furoshiki, the traditional Japanese art of wrapping gifts in cloth rather than throwaway paper. Learn more at www.zerowastesooke.ca.