Logo chosen for Wantage's war on the plastic bag
Earlier this year Oxfordshire County Council joined forces with Wantage & District Chamber of Commerce in a bid to make the town plastic bag-free. Businesses in the town are pledging to stop dishing out plastic bags and encouraging their customers to use reusable bags instead. A competition was held to design a logo and the winner was Oxford’s Andy Sides. Andy said: "I thought I would enter as I agreed with the principle and was glad somewhere local was embracing the need to reduce plastic bag usage. I never thought I would win though. I wanted the design to appear organic, hence the approach I took. The slogan "plastic not fantastic" just came to me, I think it was partly influenced by the Kinks’ Plastic Man song lyrics and seemed appropriate for the brief. So many plastic bags are used and wasted every day and if Wantage's introduction of the new eco bag helps to limit this, then that would be good for all of us. I wish Wantage every success with this great idea, I hope it helps rid the area of plastic bags and that other areas follow suit.”
Matthew Chapman, Chair of the Wantage Chamber of Commerce which supports local businesses, added: "One of our aims for 2007/08 is to rid Wantage of plastic bags in order to reduce some of the litter on our streets. We are very proud of our historic town and the surrounding villages so we will be encouraging all businesses to adopt the Wantage eco bag. With their support, and that of local schools and community groups, we will be able to promote Wantage at a national level while reducing unsightly waste and the use of landfill sites."
The bag will be launched at the Dickensian Evening in Wantage on Friday 7th December, meaning that this year’s Christmas shopping can be a little bit more environmentally friendly.
