HORSHAM Landcare Group has hosted a sewing bee to whip up more Boomerang bags for Wimmera residents.
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From experienced sewers to those just happy to help make a cup of tea, people joined forces to combat waste at Horsham Civic Centre on Thursday afternoon.
The group have produced more than 3000 bags since they started the project about three years ago.
"These bags have multiple benefits for community (including) preventing fabric from going to landfill by giving it a second life and preventing litter," Horsham Urban Landcare group organiser Gillian Vanderwaal said.
Attendees assisted with the creation of the upcycled bags, which are made by cutting, ironing and sewing excess material from pillowcases, doonas, shirts and even hi-vis vests. Others with less craft skills enjoyed a yarn over coffee and a slice of Mrs Vanderwaal's homemade peach cake.
Each year, Australia sends upwards of 690 kilograms of waste to landfills, which equates to about 429,000 plastic bags each hour, a report by Clean Up Australia said. Australians are the second-highest producers of waste, per person, behind the United States and the amount of waste placed in landfill each year is enough to cover the entire state of Victoria.
The Boomerang Bags are a project that was piloted in Burleigh Heads, in Queensland's Gold Coast, and have since been adopted by more than 1000 communities worldwide.
Mrs Vanderwaal said people could use the Boomerang Bags to carry anything from groceries to clothes and books. She said people could pick them up from Horsham Civic Centre, Horsham Library, Craft for a Cause or Horsham Disposals.
She said the group didn't need more fabric donations but hoped to see more volunteers at the next sewing bee at Horsham Civic Centre on November 20.
"We are coming up to Christmas, which is the peak period for shopping - so it would be good to get more Boomerang Bags out there to prevent people using plastic bags," she said.
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