This is a new good practice Caroli Buitenhuis introduced in the last MORE4NRG consortium meeting. The idea, which she calls a ‘citizen initiative, addresses a problem most people are all too familiar with: At home the plastic bags are bulging out of our cupboards. And at the store, we’ve forgotten our bag once again and we have to buy a new one.
For this situation, people can dispose of extra plastic bags in the Bag Bubble, or pick one up if they’ve forgotten one. It saves money, stops more plastic bags from being sold (and likely produced) and gets people reusing what is already there. Also, it’s designed like a bubblegum machine — something everyone expects to see at a supermarket.
An independent research, under orders of the Ministry of Environmental Affairs, has calculated the expected environmental impact of this initiative in The Netherlands. Using a conservative estimate, that is, use of the "BagBubble" will cause up to 33 % reduction of the total in the amount of plastic shopping bags sold on a yearly basis.
This will mean up to 184 million less bags per year (in this small country with only 7 million households)! According the independent research consultancy this project will make a substantial contribution to a cleaner environment and it will also make a relevant contribution to the environmental goal to push back the plastic waste. Besides that, there will be a reduction of (waste combustion) emmission of up to 30 million kilo's of C02 (in The Netherlands). At the same time this initiative will raise environmental awareness amongst the citizens and consumers. Requests for the extensive research can be made at info@bagbubble.eu.
Caroli Buitenhuis is the initiator of the BagBubble. It started as a 'civilian initiative'. She came up with this idea standing in the supermarket without a plastic bag, thinking of her cupboard at home full of plastic bags. She didn't want to bring more bags into the environment and decided to do something about it. Caroli Buitenhuis is also advisor on environmental issues.
The BagBubble (before named BagGlobe) was the winner of the Public Vote at the international challenge Mission Sustainability in november 2007. Caroli received her prize in Berlin, on an international sustainability congres from chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and Helen Clark, prime minister of New Zealand. The BagBubble has won several other prizes and nominations in The Netherlands and Caroli is also writing a weblog on the BagBubble for the Dutch newspaper Trouw.
For more information or to order a Bagbubble you can mail to info@bagbubble.eu.