There’s an iconic shot in the movie “American Beauty” in which one of the characters videotapes a plastic bag floating on the breeze and declares his belief that there is beauty in that moment.
The folks in Modbury in Devon in the UK certainly disagree with his point of view.
The town with a population of about 1,600 declared on May Day in 2007 that it was going to ban plastic shopping bags, becoming the first in Europe to impose the restriction.
Canvas bags and wicker baskets have replaced the environmental miscue that is the plastic shopping bag.
With the one-year anniversary of the ban approaching, the people in the community have whole-heartedly accepted the change and have gone even greener. Several merchants have taken the plastic ban even further. A local delicatessen no longer sends sandwiches to go in plastic boxes, opting for brown paper bags now instead, and the butcher and florist have made key changes as well.
Maybe the designer/activist who created the house made of newspapers should move to this town.
To find out how the whole movement in Modbury began one year ago, visit the BBC.
Image: Easy Green
Tags: green, recycle, plastic bags, environment, plastic bag ban, Modbury
