Eco-friendly crowd is growing
Nelson
Mail. 22 August 2005. By
BECK
VASS
A
Nayland College business
studies group making bags
out of used drink containers
was one of 80 stalls at
the Ecofest held at the
Trafalgar Centre over the
weekend.
The fifth annual environmental awareness festival showcased a variety of environmentally friendly initiatives and energy conserving devices. It attracted 7500 people, up 500 on last year.
Nayland College Juiced stallholder Brad Rowe, 18, said the group sold juice and then used a sewing machine and nylon to make the square drink containers into bags. The drink packets are usually pierced with a straw and then discarded.
Brad said the idea for the bags was inspired by German exchange students in the class who said a similar concept was currently popular in Europe.
The bags, which sold for $9, had proven popular with the school's year nine and 10 students. They can be custom-made with extra features including a longer-shoulder strap or a cellphone holder, he said.
Stalls for solar heating and power, worm farming and Moontime Aotearoa, a Nelson-based company which makes reusable cotton menstrual cloths with the theme "Go With the Flow" were other attractions at the Ecofest.
A petition calling for Nelson city and Tasman district councils to push for the introduction of a deposit scheme on glass bottles was also well supported, receiving 444 signatures.
Petition spokesman Duncan Eddy said bottles used to be traded-in at shops for a few cents and recycled. If that scheme was reintroduced, Mr Eddy said it would help reduce the glass mountain that was growing at refuse stations.
Ecofest organiser Jo Reilly said stallholders had noted a significant increase in visitors being open-minded and "eco-aware" this year.
"I think people are beginning to realise that they do actually have to seriously consider other options."