New World Record for Largest Paper Shopping Bag Highlights Alternative to Plastic Bags

News provided by

VARN Media

05 Oct, 2015, 18:31 GMT

BRADFORD ON AVON, England, October 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Paper Bag Co, market leading bag supplier in the UK, with help from Varn Media and around 300 pupils at Fitzmaurice Primary School in Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire has 'ripped up' the world record for making the largest paper bag in the world to illustrate that paper bags are easier to recycle than plastic bags. 

     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151005/274027 )

After months of planning, the most gigantic paper shopping bag ever made on Earth became reality at Fitzmaurice Primary School in Bradford on Avon on 23 September 2015.

Paper Bag Co set out to draw attention to paper bags as a viable alternative to plastic ones as they are easy to recycle.

The Paper Bag Co record breaking bag measured a huge 22.50 metres long, 15.41 metres wide and 3.36 metres deep and was officially verified by Guinness World Records.

The bag used:

  • 1,400 metres (almost a mile) of brown paper
  • 4,800 metres (3 miles long) of paper tape
  • 1,500 metres (1 mile) of paper string

Jon Marling, Director of the Paper Bag Co, the paper bag supplier that now claims the new world record, explained the reasons behind this enormous project.

"We are really happy to hold a world record. As a bag supplier to retailers we make every effort to understand where we can support sustainable solutions using environmentally friendly materials that are easy to recycle such as paper, cotton or bamboo. We are proud to have accomplished this amazing record for Great Britain," said Marling.

Tom Vaughton, Director of Varn Media said: "It's been an exciting, long and rewarding day to finally know we have the record for Wiltshire and the UK."

With the record 'in the bag' the paper from the huge object was made into smaller souvenir bags for the children to take home. During the day of the world record attempt, the children decorated the bag and helped with its construction.

From 5 October 2015, there is a 5p levy per bag on plastic carrier bags in the supermarkets. Paper Bag Co suggests that retailers can simply change over to paper materials where possible, as they are much easier to recycle and are not taxed.

See the whole record breaking event with a stop motion camera here: http://www.paperbagco.co.uk/worlds-largest-paper-bag 

More info: http://www.paperbagco.co.uk and http://www.varnmedia.co.uk

Contact: Richard Forsyth (r.forsyth@varnmedia.co.uk) and Tom Vaughton (contact@varnmedia.co.uk), T: +44(0)1225-439961