Leopold sewers threading the needle on sustainability

LEOPOLD resident Sue Bickerton saw a sign at her local community centre four years ago looking for volunteer sewers.

Now, Ms Bickerton coordinates a band of 12 to 14 committed sewers at the Leopold Boomerang Bags group located within the Leopold Community Hub twice a week, sewing bags that will go out to members of the local community.

Ms Bickerton and her team of sewers recently surpassed a major milestone, completing bag number 8000 in their bid to deliver two bags to each Leopold household.

Boomerang Bags is a nationwide initiative that was created in 2013 in response to the impact of single-use plastics on the planet with the aim to divert post-consumer materials into reusable bags instead of plastic bags.

Since the statewide lightweight plastic bag ban came into effect in November 2019, the initiative has also helped people incorporate reusable bags into the daily lives of residents across the country.

“We have delivered bags to over 1,000 houses in Leopold already and there are probably about 3,500 houses left to deliver to, so it looks like we will raise our bag target from 10,000 to about 15,000,” Ms Bickerton said.

“The raise in number is due to the fact we did so much advertising, marketing and making sure we were involved in all the different community activities that have been going, so we’ve sewn a lot more bags as a result.”

Most recently, the Boomerang Bags group sewed 40 bags for the Leopold Lions Club in tandem with its Lap The Map initiative.

The community group meets twice a week each Tuesday and Thursday morning to sew.

Ms Bickerton assured the production of each session varies from day to day and that it is purely a chance for people to get together.

“If you turn up and don’t end up sewing that is perfectly fine,” Ms Bickerton said.

“Some days we might make 10 bags and others we might make 50 or 60 bags.

“It just kind of depends on the mood and how much we want to chat.”

Ms Bickerton has been the coordinator of the group for approximately three years now, but her passion to assist the community remains as strong as ever.

“I just love it, we get plenty of fabric for the bodies of the bags and we provide a service to Leopold too,” Ms Bickerton said.

“We get involved at the kinders and we’re trying to get involved with Leopold Primary School.

“It’s a great initiative and it’s a great chance to meet new and community-first individuals.”

The Leopold Community Hub is located at 31-39 Kensington Road, Leopold and each Boomerang Bag session runs from 9am to midday.

Leopold Boomerang Bags would appreciate any donations of cotton fabric to help in the making of bags.

Donations can be dropped off at the Leopold Community Hub during opening hours or by ringing 03 5250 1301.

Head to www.leopoldcommunitycentre.com.au for more information.