Environmental committee introduces “bag for life” to the community of Swakopmund
This past Saturday the newly established environmental committee, approved by the Swakopmund Municipal Council, hosted an awareness campaign at Vineta Woermann Brock and at the Shoprite Shopping centre. The campaign is aimed at introducing a new shopping bag called “the bag for life”.
The Environmental Committee consists of representatives from various organisations including the Municipality of Swakopmund, the Otto Herrigel Trust, NACOMA Project, Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Ministry of Environment and Tourism and a representative for local retailers.
According to the Environmental Officer at the Swakopmund Municipality’s Health Department, Paulina Engelbrecht, the environmental committee is responsible for the development and implementation of the so-called Plastic Bag By-law. Other duties include consultations with the retailers and the general public, as well as conducting awareness campaigns about the environmental and health effects of plastic bags. They also wish to encourage the community to use less plastic bags and instead use the “bag for life”.
The “bags for life” were distributed at Vineta Woermann Brock and the Shoprite Shopping Centre in town. Some were also distributed at the Mondesa Woermann Brock and the DRC informal settlement. The UNAM Environmental Society of the Henties Bay UNAM campus played a role in creating awareness about the effects of plastic bags. During the awareness campaign, viewers had to dance to win the bag of life. Most of the kids dancing received a cool drink. They were excited to be part of the campaign. The campaign lasted for about an hour at each venue.
The Environmental Society will be assisting the Environmental Committee with awareness raising. “Next year we are looking into organising role plays at our local schools. Although we are still in the process of developing the by-law, we felt that we want to encourage residents to use less plastic bags, especially now with the festive season approaching”, said Engelbrecht.
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