As the website says, the idea of Boomerang Bags is “sew sustainable” and it’s coming to Wagga.
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A group of Wagga volunteers is hard at work gathering donated fabric and cotton thread to stitch into reusable, environmentally friendly shopping bags as the new scheme is established in the city.
Resident Kay Thomas decided to bring introduce the Boomerang Bags idea to Wagga after hearing a radio interview with volunteers who had brought it to Tumut.
She sees many benefits to the scheme.
The first is that single-use shopping bags are being ditched in favour of washable, reusable cloth bags and, secondly, because Boomerang Bags uses only donated fabric, thousands of kilograms of material is finding new life and not being dumped into landfill.
Boomerang Bags was started in 2013 by two Queensland women, Tania Potts and Jordyn de Boer, with the goal of reducing plastic bags within their community of Burleigh Heads.
Volunteer groups have since sprung up around Australia and the idea is spreading internationally, particularly in North America and Europe.
Ms Thomas said a group of about 10 Wagga volunteers were ready to start turning donated material into the reusable shopping bags.
“A lot of fabric that would have gone into landfill can be used, even old doonas and sheets, curtains and fabric banners,” she said.
Working from the Pilgrim Uniting Church in Glenfield, the Wagga volunteers will cut and sew the fabric into shopping bags, then screenprint them with the Boomerang Bags logo.
Ms Thomas said bags would initially be donated to food distribution programs in the city and, as supplies increased and demand rose, they will be distributed more widely.
To help get Boomerang Bags up and running in Wagga, the volunteers are in need of sewing thread.
Of course, donations of fabrics and cash to help buy ink for screenprinting the logo are also welcome.
The drop-in centre at the Wesley Uniting Church in Johnston Street is accepting donations for Boomerang Bags, and is open from Monday to Friday, between 10am and 1pm.
To join the volunteers and help create the bags, email Ms Thomas at gnkthomas@internode.on.net for more information.
