Businesses on the Tweed Coast in Australia have embarked on a new mission — protecting their seaside paradise from plastic shopping bags. The Business Association has become one of the first chambers of commerce in Australia to formally adopt a campaign to phase out plastic bags, with local stores convinced their seaside location makes it all the more important to ensure the bags don’t find their way into waterways. Some of the shopkeepers are giving away cloth bags, some are charging for the reusable sacks, but all are eager to shift public perception for the better. (Tweed Daily News )
And, in Scotland a major new poll found that over 90% of people interviewed said they thought it important to preserve wild places. More than 60% of residents said action was needed to protect Scotland’s remote and untamed mountains, moors and glens from the damage brought by modern buildings, bulldozers and mobile phone towers. (The Sunday Herald)