A PLASTIC reduction group from Mold have celebrated a second successful event getting supermarket shoppers to unwrap their items of plastic.

A total of 32 shoppers took part in the mass unwrap and left behind 221 pieces of plastic over the two-hour period.

Saskia Webster, lead volunteer for the event, said: “Our first Unwrap at Tesco in Mold was very successful and we showed that customers really do care about the amount of unnecessary packaging. There was clearly an appetite for more and at other store locations.

“The best moment of the event for me was little Bella from Prestatyn. She came to the last event at Tesco and wanted to hold a placard and get involved.

“Many shoppers said they recycled what they could when they got home and recycled at work. The most common comments were that, although we do what we can, it is drop in the ocean and we need serious legislation to stop producing plastic in the first place. There is enough on the planet to reuse what we have. Next stop, parliament!”

Saskia also wanted to give a special thanks to the families that joined the Mold Plastic Reduction group – including Sarah Harry, Becca Spurdle and Jen Ny who came prepared to unwrap shopping with people. She also mentioned Mair Mcdonald - who returned to the shop to help after unpacking 36 of her own items at home.

The Mass Unwrap – held at the Aldi store in Mold opposite McDonald’s - is one of a number of actions the local group are taking as they try to reduce the impact of single use plastic in their day-to-day lives. The event was run simultaneously with a plastic reduction group in Llangollen doing the same at their local Aldi store.

Organised as part of the Surfers Against Sewage ‘Plastic Free Communities’ campaign, the purpose of a Mass Unwrap is to visually show the high levels of plastic packaging on our food and to call for change.

Mass Unwraps are non-confrontational and family friendly events, usually held over a two-hour period, and in that time the customers will continue to shop and pay as normal.

When they move away from the checkouts, they can then visit one of the group volunteers who will help them take any unnecessary plastic packaging from their purchases and put it in a trolley for recycling or proper disposal.

Counting up the items of plastic as they go, volunteers also gather evidence to show the scale of plastic packaging used.