“It’s time to break the carrier bag habit. It’s not difficult, it’s not painful, but it IS responsible. Let’s stop the talking and see some action.” Sir Stuart Rose, M&S Chief Executive
In April 2009 the governor of the Red Sea will enforce a plastic bag ban within Hurghada. After this date, local shops and supermarkets will not be able to supply free plastic shopping carrier bags to its customers.
Instead, customers will be given the opportunity to purchase a re-usable bag. The ban, which has received the full support of the council and many large business operators, will replicate successful models used in many towns throughout Europe and HEPCA’s role will be to manage the public awareness campaign to support the ban.
The ‘One Bag at a Time’ campaign will be visible throughout shops and supermarkets over the coming months and will provide education and information for all Hurghada residents. It is hoped that the ban will lead to a larger aim of cleaning up Hurghada.
How will the ban affect you? You can easily adapt to the new rules by observing the following:
• Re-use old shopping bags – take them with you to the shops.
• Purchase a stronger plastic or material (cloth) bag to use for your groceries and shopping items.
• Tell people about the ban and the positive reasons for it!
• Become a HEPCA fan on facebook and join our discussion group – This month we are sharing ideas for re-using old plastic bags.

“Forcing customers to make a decision they don’t fully understand is not the best way to achieve behavioral change.” Justin King, CEO J Sainsbury’s

A strong statement, and very true! In order for the ban to be a success we need to work together to provide as many alternative bags as possible.

Residents and businesses can support the plastic bag ban by donating or asking customers to donate a spare bag to HEPCA.

We will re-distribute the bags to the poorer families living in the town. Not only will this allow us to ensure there are enough bags for everyone, it will also grant us the opportunity to communicate the all-important reason for the ban. Educating the community is a vital component to making these changes.

I’M AN INDIVIDUAL WHO WOULD LIKE TO DONATE A BAG:

Easy! If you live in Hurghada, pop it down to our offices in the Marriot Hotel. If you live abroad, simply post your bag to:

HEPCA

(DONATE A BAG CAMPAIGN)

P.O. BOX 144

HURGHADA

RED SEA

EGYPT



I AM A BUSINESS WHO WOULD LIKE TO PROMOTE THE CAMPAIGN AND ASK MY CUSTOMERS TO BRING A BAG TO DONTATE:

We have done the hard work for you. Download an information leaflet here. Send it to your mailing list and wait for the bags to roll in! Then, simply contact natalie@hepca.com to arrange collection of the bags. (The sheet provided here is in English. Please contact us if you require a word version to translate)

Trash-polluted dive sites are a common sight around the globe, including southern Egypt. So far, individual commitment and dedication of single dive operators were the only approach to face the reoccurring trash masses. The sheer dimension of the problem proves this to be insufficient.
On the 11th and 12th of February 2009, a handful of people made a great difference! For the first time in the El Quesir region, a coalition of concerned operators came together to adress this challenge as a joint force.
For the first time ever, a collective Beach Clean Up Action of the region was organized by The Red Sea Environmental Centre (RSEC), supported by the HEPCA. The event is to be repeated on a monthly basis and will hopefully have a strong impact on local politics to urge on local plans on infrastructure and logistics of garbage disposal. The enthusiastic collaboration of dive staff, guests and members of both organizations realized the collection of more than 4 tons of trash and debris at two different dive sites in only two afternoons. In Serib Kebir 733.5 kg and Abu Saafa 414 kg (a total of 1147.5kg) of trash were gathered, plus safari boat remains of app. 3 t in the latter location.
Christof Schneider, from the RSEC would like to say thank you once more to all participating dive operators of the region (EXTRA DIVER, MAGIC DIVER, SUBEX, DUCK DIVER, PHARAO DIVER UND SUBAQUA) for their magnificent help. Without their commitment and dedication, this action would not have been as successful and impressive as it was. We hope to see you all again, as well as the operators we missed.

Sara Campbell, the British World Champion freediver, demonstrated her support for HEPCA’s ‘Hayah’ campaign by taking time out of her busy schedule to join blue o two guests for a reef clean-up week, onboard M/Y blue Fin. The week was part of a month of subsidised clean-up safaris that blue o two have been running throughout January in continued support for HEPCA’s ‘Hayah’ campaign.

‘Hayah’ meaning ‘Life’ in Arabic, is HEPCA’s most ambitious environmental project yet, aiming to involve all sections of the Red Sea community to work towards; raising awareness, education and responsibility and active participation.

Sara said: "I've always had a close connection with the environment, and am delighted that I can use my diving to reach a wider audience to help protect not only the Red Sea, but all water environments. I was on the fourth Hayah/blue o two clean-up week and it was clear that their efforts have already made a huge impact. The amount of waste that ends up in the sea is shocking - it not only looks horrible, but it destroys the reefs and particularly in the case of fishing lines and nets, can create the most awful devastation to the wildlife."

Natalie Tyler, Project Manager at HEPCA, was also onboard during the week and outlined the importance of active support from the diving community for the ‘Hayah’ campaign; “HEPCA is committed to addressing all environmental and wildlife protection issues across the whole of the Red Sea, and the Hayah initiative aims to reduce the waste both in the sea and on land, through clean-ups and awareness and education projects. Simply by seeing that divers are prepared to spend time and money on holiday to clean up the reefs makes a big impact on the boat crew and encourages them to adopt more environmental-friendly ways of living at sea - from waste disposal, to cleaning materials they use. We can't pin-point the waste problem at one group - everyone is responsible for looking after the future of the Red Sea."

If you would like to play a part in preserving the Red Sea and pledge your support for the Hayah campaign, join clean-ups and initiatives organised by our members. For more information on blue o two's subsidised clean-up weeks visit www.blueotwo.com

HEPCA are recruiting passionate environmental enthusiasts to join us in 2009.

Volunteers will receive full training and opporunities to get involved with community focused activity.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please email natalie@hepca.com stating:

*Name
*Contact telephone number
*Current employment
*Reason for wanting to volunteer for HEPCA