Sick of Plastic

Hello to all you wonderful folks who are Sick of Plastic,

We want to let you know that we released our Grocery Report demanding that the Circular Economy Bill adopt ambitious measures to reduce plastic packaging.

The report contains thirteen key recommendations, including:

• At least 25% of consumer packaging should be reusable by 2025, increasing to 50% by 2030.
• At least 75% of transit packaging should be reusable by 2025, increasing to 90% by 2030.
• 20% of the floor surface of shops larger than 400 square metres should be fitted with refill systems by 2030.
• Beverage container refill target of 35% by 2025, increasing to 70% by 2030.
• Financial support for the installation of reuse infrastructure.
• Fiscal incentives to effect behaviour change and encourage the move to reuse.

We are calling on the government to implement these recommendations as part of its circular economy strategy in, or in parallel to, the Circular Economy Bill.

As you know reuse and refill systems complement and improve upon the ‘polluter pays’ framework by aiming for a significant reduction in waste, reuse and full cost recovery. It simply isn’t enough for supermarkets to contribute towards the collection and recycling of their packaging waste through the existing Extended Producer Responsibility scheme. Ireland's grocery market experienced double-digit sales growth over Covid, it's time to give back and invest in reuse infrastructure!

Please read and share the report, and contact your local representatives to demand ambitious reuse, refill and plastic reduction targets NOW.

Keep in touch,
Angela Ruttledge
SoP Campaign Lead

We did it :: The National Geographic's Planet or Plastic? exhibition is coming to Ireland !

Open Dún Laoghaire Harbour Plaza 13th Oct - 12th Nov
The Promenade, Skerries 15th Nov -13th Dec

As part of our educational remit the Sick of Plastic Campaign is teaming up with The National Geographic to bring the ‘Planet or Plastic Exhibition’ to Ireland. This exhibition gives visitors a chronological timeline of plastic, starting from its invention just over a century ago to its mass consumption today.

Plastic pollution is one of the most important global environmental challenges of our generation. But it is an issue that we can all do something about. In the run up to COP26 we hope to bring attention to the plastic crisis we face.

This exhibition informs us about how we got here, the scope of the problem, and how we can each be a part of the solution.

We hope you all get to see this exhibition and take something from it. Please let us know what you think, tag us, send us an email or tweet about it @sickofplasticireland

Please share with anyone who, like us is Sick of Plastic !

Hope to see you there - Lyndsey and the SoP Team

Hello to all of our Sick of Plastic Groups !!

We have been very quiet on here over the last year.

There looks to be an end in sight for what has been a terrible time for many. Before I go on about our campaign I'd like to offer our condolences to anyone who has been affected by COVID. There are many of us who have lost a love one, our hearts and prayers are with you.

As this strange time draws to a close we have been reflecting on our shop and drops days and what a real success they were when it came to getting the supermarkets attention.

It was such a blow not to be able to have a Shop and Drop day in 2020 and now it looks like 2021 too. However we are still working hard here at Sick of Plastic.

In January we sat down with ALDI, LIDL, Dunnes Stores, Supervalu and TESCO's and asked them what practical steps they were taking to reduce plastic. We applied pressure on all of the shops and demanded they look at reuse/refill as alternative workable solutions to the use of plastic packaging.

We have had to think creatively and have managed to take the campaign in a slightly different direction. Now, with the help of Dublin Friends of the Earth we have started contacting all shops, retailers, wholesalers, suppliers etc. in Ireland and are applying pressure to them to so the same as the supermarkets. Together with one of our parent NGO's VOICE Ireland, we are also running a #WeChooseReuse Campaign to really push reusables as a workable alternative to plastics.

We have noticed a huge increase in the amount of awareness when it comes to the plastic crisis and will continue to use our social media platforms to educate and support our sick of plastic groups and supporters.

If you would like to still be involved there are ways, please make sure to sign and share our petition:
https://www.foe.ie/takeaction/break-free-from-plastic/

We have letter to your local supermarket/shop here in the 'resources' part of ChangeX, you can send these letters on behalf of yourself or on behalf of your group to any retailers (shops).

And as always, if you notice a lot of unnecessary plastic in your local shops, please send them onto us and we'll email them and post the pictures on our S.M pages
[email protected].

Hopefully we can get back to what we are good at soon.

Please don't hesitate to get in touch...

Lyndsey O'Connell
SoP Campaign Lead

WE GOT THEIR ATTENTION.... Due to the success of the Postcard campaign that we ran back in July 2020, we got the attention of Ireland's biggest supermarkets. Thank you to everyone who signed and sharred.

Over the last six weeks we have sat down with LIDL, ALDI, TESCO's, Musgraves (Supervalu) and Dunnes Stores.

It is clear to us that each of these giant retail stores know just how important it is to reduce plastic. They know that Ireland is the biggest plastic producing country in Europe. They know we have to reduce. That being said, they are all pretty much doing the same things. We are seeing similar targets and ambitions and they are not ambitious enough.

We are NOT seeing a concerted move to refill options. We need to eradicate plastics. Not replace them with another packaging alternatives.

This year we are focusing our attentions on exactly this.

We will be calling on our government to do more. We will be demanding that they legislate for definitive Refill Targets; for our supermarket stores to have 30% refill options by 2030.

We need your help to keep putting pressure on Ireland's supermarkets.

Please write to your Supermarket and tell them how you feel....

There is a sample letter on the VOICE website that you can use as a template, if you wish.

We need our supermarkets to do more. And we need them to do it more quickly.

https://voiceireland.org/project-work/sick-of-plastic-campaign/tys.php

Hi everyone,

I hope you are all keeping well.

As many of you will already know this month is Plastic Free July. At Sick of Plastic we have launched a Postcard campaign calling on the 5 main Supermarkets in Ireland to help us reduce our plastic waste and to provide us, as consumers with more options to reuse our own containers and to buy goods in bulk.

If you are interested in getting behind our campaign you can volunteer to act as a hub for our postcards so we can get them out into the community and available for members of the public to sign. If you are interested please get in touch at [email protected]. The attached document gives you some more details on how the hubs operate.
Check out the map we have put together of hubs already in place across the country https://bit.ly/2WflGvQ . If there is no hub available where you live, maybe you can set one up.....

In addition we have set up a digital version of the postcards for people to sign. If you would prefer to sign up digitally then please find it here - https://bit.ly/2YtmLlg.

If you are organising any Plastic Free July events of your own please tag us on social and keep us up to date.

Do keep in touch, we would love to know what is going on with the groups across the country.

Thanks

Angela

Hi everyone!

Did you collect petition signatures at your shop and drop action? Please send them on to Sick of Plastic so we can input them to the online petition and bump up numbers before we meet with supermarket HQ's.

You can scan or take photos of the signed petition sheets and email them to [email protected] or you can post them to Sick of Plastic, 9 Upper Mount St, Dublin 2.

Thanks so much!
Claudia

Hi everyone, well done on a great effort launching the action on Saturday!

The Sunday Times covered the day of action and mention Sutton and Dublin 8 Sick of Plastic group members! https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/ireland/shoppers-in-ireland-pack-a-punch-over-supermarket-plastic-flj3nhwdq

The action will be discussed on Claire Byrne Live this evening, so tune in on RTE1 at 10.35pm. Some local Sick of Plastic action takers will be in the audience.

We've been getting lots of interest from radio too and have been on air with various stations all last week and more interest this week too.

Let's keep it up!

We're sick of plastic and we want supermarkets to take action!

Here is a list of things we would like supermarkets to do:
1. Offer more items without packaging, such as fruit and
vegetables (without plastic trays, wrapping and nets).
2. Make own-brand packaging easily compostable or recyclable,
and use less plastic.
3. Demand, through purchasing power, that other brands have
easily compostable or recyclable packaging, and use less plastic.
4. Blaze a trail in Ireland by implementing a plastic free aisle, as
has been done in the Netherlands.
5. Provide items in bulk, where possible, to reduce packaging.
6. Allow shoppers to use their own containers, buying only what
they need.

Hi everyone!

I'm Claudia, and I manage the mobilization side of things for the Sick of Plastic Campaign. It's so amazing to see so many people join and form groups already! I just want to let you know that I am here to help you along the way. You can contact me directly here or by email at [email protected] if that's easier for you.

Are we all set for April 13? The plan is to have as many groups up ready to do their first action on that day, to launch ongoing community led shop and drop supermarket actions. It's been a year since our nationwide action, so we need to build up the momentum again and keep the pressure on to make supermarkets break free from plastic!

There are two key parts to the event on April 13, we are asking shoppers to leave their unwanted plastic packaging behind and we are also asking them to sign our plastic petition to help us reach 20,000 names!

The 'Shop and Drop Action Guide' in the resources section has everything you need to do between now and April 13 and on your day of action!