#ShopAndDrop is today, and you are making it our biggest ever action.

The Sick of Plastic day of action on supermarket packaging is here. Thousands of people up and down the country are planning to shop in their local supermarket today and leave their unwanted packaging at the checkout. 400 people have registered to promote the action outside supermarkets, from Buncrana to Kinsale and from Westport to Waterford. Local organisers have been on radio stations from Cork to Dongeal and today's coverage alone includes the Irish Times and the Sun. We have never had a response like it, and it's all down to people like you.

Thank you for signing the petition urging supermarkets to take action

Please Shop and Drop today

Today's action couldn't be simpler. You just shop as normal in your local supermarket and leave any plastic packaging you don't want at the checkout after you pay. Tesco, Aldi and SuperValu have all been in touch to day they will have recycling bins instore for people to put their unwanted plastic in. The more of us who take action today, the stronger the message to supermarkets will be.

You can Shop and Drop at any store, it doesn't need to be one where volunteers are planning to be outside.

If you have time, do take a picture of the excess packaging that annoys you most when you're shopping and post it online with hashtags #SickOfPlastic and #ShopAndDrop. Here's the packet of courgettes that really annoyed me last weekend!

If you are interested in going to a supermarket where volunteers outside - and thank you so much if you are already volunteering :-) - check out the action map (although things moved quickly in the last couple of days and there could well be volunteers in other places too).

And Please tell your friends

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And just forward this email to anyone else you know who is Sick of Plastic.

Lots of individuals and groups have been taking action on plastic pollution for years. I was reminded this week of all the work the Coastwatch surveyors have done over the years. Today is a chance for us all to act together and multiply our impact.

And together we will win.

Yours sincerely,
Oisin Coghlan
Director of Friends of the Earth
for the Sick Of Plastic Campaign

P.S. Thank you to everyone who chipped in to cover the costs of materials for Shop and Drop. We put a big dent in our bills and we're just €369 short of our fundraising target. Anything you can give would make a real difference, thank you.