In March 2005, the Council ran its first ever NEEDabag campaign in partnership with many local retailers. As part of the campaign,  the Baglady visited all towns in the District to encourage shoppers to reuse their bags and shop assistants to ask customers if they really needed a bag. Banbridge District Council was one of ten local authorities in Northern Ireland who supported the NEEDabag campaign in partnership with the Northern Ireland Environment Agency. This initiative proved very efefctive in reducing the number of plastic bags being handed out by local retailers. It also helped to change customer attitudes to adopting more environmentally friendly shopping practices.

Benefits of Plastic Bags Re-Usage

• Help reduce the number of plastic carrier bags being sent to landfill
• Reduce the environmental problems that widespread use of plastic bags cause such as littering the landscape, contaminating streams and harming marine life and livestock

Tips for Plastic Bag Re-Usage

• Reuse the same plastic bags each week when you do your grocery shopping  or take a durable shopping bag with you when you go into town
• Reuse the plastic bags that you keep at home as packaging for your lunch
• Reuse plastic bags to clean up after you dog

Remember! It is never too late to bag a better environment! Every time you reuse a plastic bag you save the bag you reused from going to landfill and save a new one from having to be used.