A local businesswoman is hoping her invention will help in the fight against plastic pollution.
Bushra, who runs the Zafran 5-in-1 takeaway in Palmerstown Village, has created a new invention to tackle single use plastic cutlery.
The Outlery set of cutlery is a portable cutlery set made of metal which can be screwed together for use and then tucked neatly away in its metal box.
In order to start producing the metal cutlery sets she recently launched a Kickstarter fundraising campaign to raise capital for the next stage.
Bushra says was inspired to go plastic free by her children who go to school locally and have been learning about the devastating effects of plastic pollution on our environment.
Bushra has been working with Clondalkin Councillor Madeleine Johansson and Kellie Sweeney from People Before Profit following a campaign to encourage local businesses to go plastic free.
“I have been running a Take-Away in Palmerstown for the last couple of years,” Bushra said.
“With the recent surge in news on how plastic is wreaking havoc to the environment, I was guilty of contributing to it by giving a set of plastic cutlery away with every order.
“I started working on a solution that was convenient, hygienic and eco-friendly.
“My kids Taha and Aliza who are in grade 4 and 6 respectively at St. Ultans Primary School helped me all the way in brainstorming because they too were aware of the problem of plastic from their school.
“It was after 8 long months that I was finally able to get the production samples in my hands.
“I’d also like to applaud Cllr Madeleine Johansson for creating awareness in Palmerstown and encouraging business owners to minimize the use of plastic. “
“People Before Profit representative for Lucan Kellie Sweeney is also playing a critical role in rallying the community and educating them about the damage plastic is causing.
“The meetups arranged by Kellie and Cllr Madeleine have helped me a lot in taking Outlery from an idea to a reality.”
“We launched a Kickstarter campaign on 7th May, together with Cllr Madeleine and Kellie, I am hoping to make it a success and get Outlery in the hands of as many as we can.”
Cllr Madeleine Johansson hopes the local community will get behind the invention.
“I recently met Bushra and was truly inspired by her enthusiasm to reduce single use plastics, particularly in the takeaway industry,” she said.
“It’s great to see local small businesses leading the way on this issue.
“I would like to encourage the local community to get behind Bushra’s initiative.”
People Before Profit representative for Lucan Kellie Sweeney said
“I have been part of organising a Plastic Free Lucan initiative together with local residents and we are looking for more local businesses to get on board.
“The biggest contributors to plastic pollution are large multi-national corporations, but by taking action locally we can put pressure on big business to follow the lead.”
