Broadway Market: Quality Speciality Variety

EVENTS in and around Broadway Market

Plastic Bag Amnesty. -Help Broadway Go Plastic Bag Free

December 2007 the local environmental action group, Grass Shoots, launched a plastic bag amnesty in partnership with the Broadway Market Traders and Residents Association, supported by local politicians.

The amnesty is one of the first-of-its-kind in London - will mean customers of the market can swap their plastic shopping bags for environmentally-friendly, re-usable carry-alls. The bags will be distributed at no charge to the customers. It is hoped the amnesty will be the first step in ridding one of the capital's best-loved markets of the plastic bag scourge.

In a recent survey 60% of people asked by London Councils, the body that represents the city authorities said they wanted a complete ban on plastic bags and 90% said they would support a levy.

Louise Brewood, Chair of Broadway Market Traders & Residents Association:
"The Broadway Market Traders & Residents Association has been desperately seeking a partner to help us implement our environmental policy, and we are really delighted to be working together with Grass Shoots on the 15 December to kick start the campaign to make Broadway Market plastic bag free."

Jennette Arnold AM, Chair of the Greater London Authority Labour Group:
"Well done members of Grass Shoots who are launching a campaign to turn Broadway Market into a plastic bag free-zone."

Dermot Egan, Grass Shoots Spokesperson:
"We hope that our campaign to make Broadway Market plastic bag free will inspire and mobilise other communities in London to do the same. If more local communities can support our campaign then it sends a clear signal to the government that we want decisive action on phasing out plastic bags now."

The Market is on every Saturday from 9am - 5pm.

See you on Broadway!

Some useful information about plastic bags

Scale of the problem
We use about approximately 17 billion plastic bags a year each in the UK, thatís over 290 bags for every man, woman and child in the UK.
The average use time of a supermarket plastic bag is about 12 minutes.
Only 1 in every 200 plastic bags is recycled.
Plastic bag waste weighs in at a staggering 60,000 tonnes in the UK each year.

Environmental damage
Nearly 90% of floating marine litter is plastic.
Plastic bags can take between 400-1,000 years to break down.
Like all forms of plastic they do not biodegrade they photodegrade - breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and entering the food web when animals accidentally ingest.

What can I do?

Rethink!
We should only consume what we need. Plastic bags are an environmental hazard and a waste of resources.

Reduce!
Try to think before you take a plastic bag - is your purchase small and easy to carry?
Invest in high-quality reusable bags each of which has the potential to eliminate an average of 1,000 plastic bags over its lifetime.

Reuse!
Reuse your plastic bags - keep some in the car, backpack pocket, next to the door, in your office so they are available when you go shopping. Use your plastic bags for other purposes - Line your litter box with them or crumple them and use them for packaging, be creative.

Recycle!
Recycling plastic bags is a last resort as it is energy intensive and very expensive. Many plastic bags that get sent for recycling in the UK don't actually get recycled, they are shipped to places like India and China and are cheaply incinerated.

If you must, you should find a recycling point for plastic bags at your local supermarket. But be sure your satisfied about how and where they are recycling them.

The BMTRA comitee welcomes you to the market every Saturday. The picture is taken by Gots Buoy, Temporary artist at Seven Seven, Contemporary Arts, 75-77 Broadway Market.

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Time Out Eating & Drinking Award

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Broadway Market has been shortlisted for a Time Out Eating & Drinking Award in the new Best Local Food Market category this year. The judges at Time Out recently visited several farmersí markets in London anonymously, and we're delighted to say that Broadway Market made the list!

The Time Out Eating & Drinking Awards, now in their nineteenth year, recognise the best of Londonís diverse new eating and drinking places. The closing date for voting is 31st August and they will be announcing the winner on 9th September in the magazine and online.

Vote now!