Mass Unwrap 2020 calls on communities across the UK to highlight the scale of pointless plastic packaging in supermarkets. This high impact, fun and non-confrontational action is a way for shoppers to send a clear message to supermarket bosses, while leaving staff undisrupted.
Our Plastic Free Communities hold Mass Unwraps as part of their five-step plan to start freeing where they live from single-use … so we thought we’d share some of their top moments to inspire this year’s National Week of Action. Details on how to organize your own Mass Unwrap are at the end of this article. First up …
Plastic Free Nantwich, Cheshire
The team at Plastic Free Nantwich can’t get enough of Mass Unwraps and are among a band of communities including Totnes, Wandsworth and Lincoln who hold regular events. These are great ways for our Plastic Free Communities to raise awareness and get everyone involved in their local campaigns. Now it’s time for some coordinated national action – where we will also collect shoppers’ top pointless plastic pet hates to call for #LessPlasticPlease! Everyone who signs up to Mass Unwrap 2020 will get a Citizen Science Kit to help them record what they collect and customers’ demands over pointless packaging.
A whopping 9lb of plastic packaging collected in 2 hours from our #massunwrap @AldiUK Nantwich. It’s time for the supermarkets to act on single use plastic packaging. @sascampaigns pic.twitter.com/CT0w30f4w4
— PlasticFreeNantwich (@FreeNantwich) May 13, 2019
Plastic Free Uffculme, Devon
Plastic Free Uffculme did a great job of making sure everyone shopping at their local Co-Op knew exactly why they were there, on the day of their Mass Unwrap. They teamed up with the Amateur Dramatic Society ensemble, which performed a song called ‘DO IT NOW!’ Weeks later the community was awarded Plastic Free Communities Approved status for their great work on raising awareness and kick starting work in the community to reduce single-use plastic.
Plastic Free Newquay, Cornwall
Another community making sure they get seen is Plastic Free Newquay. The team dressed up for their Mass Unwrap at Morrisons in the town, declaring ‘Single-Use is Bananas’. Plastic Free Newquay were instrumental in drawing up the SAS Mass Unwrap Toolkit, having piloted the Mass Unwrap in Cornwall on Earth Day 2018. Seven locations took part, paving the way for a new movement. You can read more here
Credit: Clare Ball/Plastic Free Newquay
Plastic Free Kenilworth, Warwickshire
Getting local decision makers and authorities on board is a key part of becoming a Plastic Free Community. Plastic Free Kenilworth took the opportunity to get their Mayor, Alison Firth, involved and she co-leads their campaign. She was centre stage of the town’s most recent Mass Unwrap, meeting and chatting to shoppers. During Mass Unwrap 2020 we want to send a strong message to decision-makers over pointless packaging …. that’s why we’ll be collecting shoppers’ top plastic pet hates to send straight to industry bosses.
@kenilworthlions @TheGreenParty @KenilworthLido @KenilworthWeb @KenCarnival @Kenilworth_news #plasticfree #massunwrap #PlasticFreeJuly https://t.co/VUTR3k31c1 pic.twitter.com/Dfygp3tqnr
— (@BradleyBrunch) July 6, 2019
Plastic Free Mold, Wales
The team in Mold again love a Mass Unwrap and have organised several in their community, as well as linked with other communities to encourage a Mass Unwrap movement in the local area. One event saw them collect a two-metre-high cage of packaging with a great response from shoppers, local town and county councillors and schools, who also joined in. Linking up with local churches and community groups can also boost your impact – check out the Mass Unwrap Toolkit here for more tips
Bella and I joined the #massunwrap at #moldtesco (Bella’s first protest) #WarOnPlastic @rhoshelygschool @ShannonEJones1 @HughFW @DavidHansonMP good to see Mold consumers making a stand pic.twitter.com/gXmJJQhHGz
— Geography (@PHS_Geography) July 5, 2019
Feeling inspired? We want to create our biggest ever National Mass Unwrap in 2020 and it’s easy to get involved as a lead volunteer or shopper. Get all the details here.
Also check out our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts and share your top pointless plastic pet hates with the hashtag #LessPlasticPlease
To find out more about Plastic Communities click here
Get your own Plastic Free Individual Action Plan here
