Residents want Aldi store to lead the way in being plastic-free

Growing their own loofahs, persuading local supermarkets to have plastic free aisles and looking at ways local businesses can reduce plastic waste are among the many activities planned by a new Dunshaughlin based environmental group.

Dunshaughlin is Sick of Plastic has already started on online petition to persuade retailer, Aldi, to have a plastic free aisle in its new supermarket which will be opening shortly and their petition is available on their Facebook page.
“Since we will shortly have an Aldi in Dunshaughlin, we believe it is very important that they add a zero-waste aisle into their plans.
"We need somewhere to go to get our food packaging-free, and this is the perfect opportunity. Please sign our petition and let Aldi know how many people want this,” said spokesperson Ailbhe Reilly Tuite.
She explained that Sick of Plastic Ireland is a group that grew out of the environmental groups, Friends of the Earth and The Voice of Ireland and a group of Dunshaughlin people got together  to form a local branch.
“We had out first meeting recently and came up with a number of ideas including the Aldi petition.
“We are also looking at growing our own loofahs. It  will hopefully be one of our first projects. We're looking for landowners willing to help out in providing a space to grow some."
Ailbhe explains that loofahs aren't just ideal for bathing or showering, but are also ideal for use for cleaning in the kitchen and around the house.
Loofahs are actually a member of the squash plant and are easily grown in Ireland.
“They are very environmentally friendly and we would hope to sell them cheaply. It would prevent using plastic sponges and pot scrubs."
The group decided they would also look at some project to mark Earth Day on 22nd April and they are open to any ideas for events.
“We also want to look at ways of helping local businesses to use less plastic packaging.
“We want people to stop using straws and we are considering creating Dunshaughlin own reuseable coffee cups.”
Ailbhe says they would like to see better water filtration so people would avoid buying bottled water and they would love  a collection centre for PET bottles and cans in Dunshaughlin.
“We will be sending out a survey soon to get some insight into what people think of all of these things," she said.