A touch of celebrity glamour is coming to Whanganui to help reduce our plastic bag use.
International sportswoman, television presenter and - now - political candidate Hayley Holt will be at the River Traders market supporting the Plastic Bag Free Whanganui group.
To make its point about the excessive use of plastic shopping bags, the group is holding an event which aims to string a chain of plastic bags from City Bridge up Somme Parade.
They have called for volunteers to help hold the line of bags, and Green Party candidates Nicola Patrick and Ms Holt are among those answering the call.
Horizons regional councillor Ms Patrick is standing for the party vote in the Whanganui electorate at September's general election, while Aucklander Ms Holt is contesting former prime minister John Key's old seat of Helensville.
A former professional dancer, Ms Holt came to fame with her appearances across four seasons of Dancing With The Stars.
She appeared in a number of reality TV series before becoming a presenter with the sports show The Crowd Goes Wild, having represented New Zealand as a snowboarder.
She was most recently co-hosting the political show Back Benches before taking up the political gauntlet herself, joining the Greens and being placed at number 17 on the party list.
She describes herself as "fearless" and not afraid to try new things.
"The Green Party is the only party in Parliament with the right priorities and I want to use my voice to bring attention to what we stand for."
A key aspect of those priorities is protection of the environment which is why she is supporting Plastic Bag Free Whanganui.
The useful lifespan of a plastic bag is estimated at 12 minutes but, in fact, they live forever, eventually pervading the environment as tiny pieces of plastic. As a fossil fuel-based product, they never degrade or break down, making them a major pollutant.
The plastic bag free group conducted a rough survey which showed shoppers in Whanganui use about 2000 bags per hour of trading, adding up to about 2.8 million each year.