Jasper residents are teaming up to give plastic bags the boot from Jasper National Park.

A growing group of locals, bothered by bags of the single-use variety, want to give retailers and their customers viable options when it comes to carrying their groceries and other goods.

“I feel like Jasper should be leading by example,” said Julie Des Becquets, whose group, Create Change Jasper, is trying to gain support for a petition to ban single-use plastic bags. 

Meanwhile, another camp of concerned citizens is creating the means to move away from plastic bags. Save the Mountains is a recently formed collective which is repurposing used clothing and linens into reusable bags.

“There’s just too much single use plastic,” said Sonja Ostrander. “It’s time to take action.”

When she heard about the local movement, Kirsty Boisvert got on board right away. Despite having limited sewing experience before this initiative, she’s been saddling up to a sewing machine twice a week for the last three months or so. On April 30, she and six other amateur seamstresses were adding freshly-made reusable bags to the growing pile . They currently have more than 400.

“The community is getting on board,” Boisvert said.

With the help of local donations, the group plans to bolster the number of bags they’ve sewed with a bulk purchase. They then will aim to distribute the bags to local retailers.

“A plastic-free Jasper doesn’t seem far away, if Jasper participates,” Boisvert said.

So far, numbers are encouraging. Save the Mountains has had more than 50 people volunteer their time since getting started. But to make an impression on council, Des Becquets knows they have to have momentum on their side—and signatures on their petition.

“The more people that can jump on board, the better,” Des Becquets said.   

Boisvert is suggesting people can help in several different ways: join the sewing group on Mondays and Wednesday nights at Ecole Descrochers; sew your own bags; donate materials or money for bags; sign the petition; and spread the word.

To get in touch with Create Change, email createchangejasper@gmail.com or find the petition at participating retailers in Jasper.

In Stitches// Hélène Gendron, Kirsty Boisvert andMoiraa McKinnon at their bi-weekly reusable bag sewing session. the group aims to bolster Jasper’s cloth bag reserve in anticipation of going single-use plastic bag free. // Bob Covey