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Tag Archives: Plastics Reduction

DC Disposable Bag Fee Awareness Campaign Kicks Off

Plastic Bag Bans, Promotion Ideas,

dc_bag_campaignWhen everyone is on the same page, great things happen. This summer, Washington D.C. created a 5-cent disposable bag fee, aimed at keeping trash out of the city’s waterways. Starting January 1, 2010, businesses selling food and alcohol will charge five cents for disposable plastic OR paper bags. That money will go to the newly created Anacostia River Cleanup and Protection Fund, which will be used to remove trash from the river.

The fee is the first in the country to apply to both plastic and paper bags. The awareness campaign, called “Skip the Bag, Save the River,” launched yesterday. Before the new law goes into effect, the D.C. Department of the Environment will distribute at least 100,000 free, reusable bags to D.C. residents, mainly seniors and low-income residents.

The beige and blue bags feature the slogan “Skip the Bag, Save the River.” The city is also planning an advertising campaign to promote the reusable bags, which it will finance using the fees it collects. About $3.6 million in tax revenue is expected in the program’s first year.

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Maine Is Going Reusable!

Bulletin Bag Products, Green Issues, Promotion Ideas,

n173685420364_7373On Monday, the Maine Merchants Association announced the “Got Your Bags, Maine?” initiative to encourage increased reusable bag use. Following a resolution passed by the Legislature last Spring, Maine Merchants Association, Maine Grocers Association the state Chamber of Commerce, Natural Resources Council of Maine and a growing number of Maine retailers and grocers have joined forces after being brought together over the summer by the Maine State Planning Office. The public education and outreach effort is aimed at encouraging Mainers to increase the usage of reusable bags for shopping and decrease the use of single use paper and plastic bags.

“The kick off of this campaign is a monumental achievement and we are thrilled to see the state of Maine taking leadership on this issue….” says Suzette Bergeron, owner of Bulletin Bag [.com] based in southern Maine.  We first got involved in Maine’s campaign against wasteful paper and plastic when former Representative Ted Koffman put forth a bill to put a fee on paper and plastic in 2007.

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The Inevitable Appearance of a Plastic Grocery Bag

Green Issues

plastic-shopping-bagsNo matter how hard you try to avoid it, even the most diligent reusable bag user winds up with unwanted plastic bags on occasion. So, when the plastic grocery bags do magically appear in your life, here are five ways to reuse them.

1. Grab two socks and sew the toes together. Stuff each sock full of plastic grocery bags (cut up or not). Sew each end shut and voila…a draft stopper that keeps air from getting under doors.

2. Do you have a drafty house? To lessen drafts that come in, stuff plastic bags into cracks where air comes through.

3. Stinky trash? Fill a plastic bag with potpourri and secure the bag closed (tie, tape, staple). Cut very small holes in the bag and tape it to the lid of the container for a fresh scent. This works in closets, too!

4. Are you creative? Cut up plastic bags can double as: pom pons, hula skirts, kite tails, and bows for presents.

5. Heading out in mucky weather without proper footwear? Put plastic bags on your feet over your socks for extended exposure to wet elements, or over your shoes for a quick walk from building to car (be careful…it can be slippery).

Do You Still Think You Cannot Live Without Plastic Bags?

Green Issues, Reusable Bag Tips

doggie-pooper-scooperEarlier this week, we were talking about the reasons people defend their plastic bag habit.  We listen to the ‘reusable bag chatter’ and can tell you that people tweet about it, blog about it and comment on it almost every day.  So what are the top 2 reasons people haven’t made the switch to reusable bags?

#1:  “I need free plastic grocery bags to line the small trash cans in my home”

If you’ve starting bringing your own bag, you’ve probably noticed that those darn plastic bags still pop up.  Unless you live alone, you’ll have a hard time eliminating them completely.

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Florida State of (Reusable Bag) Mind!

Green Issues, Plastic Bag Bans,

Florida environmental officials are trying to make their state the first to ban single-use plastic AND paper bags. Their stance is that manufacturing paper bags creates as much pollution as disposing of plastic bags. Disposable plastic bags are a headache for those who maintain storm drains and landfill machinery and are a source of litter across landscapes and on ocean currents.

plastic_bag_recycle_binFloridians used more than 5 billion disposable plastic and paper bags in 2003, the most recent year for which figures are available. But state environmental officials aren’t deterred. They are following the lead of San Francisco and other communities by proposing to ban the bags completely .

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Plastic Shopping Bags: Truth in Numbers

Green Issues,

500,000,000,000: Society’s annual consumption rate of plastic bags–nearly 1 million per minute.
380,000,000,000: Number of plastic shopping bags consumed by Americans per year.
12,000,000: Barrels of oil used per year to produce plastic shopping bags used by Americans.
1,000,000: Seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals & sea turtles worldwide die yearly from ingesting plastics.
46,000: Pieces of plastic rubbish found on every square mile of central Pacific Ocean.
1,460: Number of plastic bags used each year by the average family of four.
1,000: Number of years that single-use plastic bags can remain on our planet.
75: Percentage of all grocery bags used in the US that are plastic.
2: Percentage of plastic bags produced each year that are recycled.
1: Number of high-quality reusable bags needed to eliminate up to 1,000 plastic bags.

Use One, Save 1,000.

turtle_with_bag

Trading Plastic for Power

Green Issues, Promotion Ideas, ,

About a year ago, Colorado mountain towns Telluride and Aspen competed to see whose residents could consume fewer disposable plastic bags in favor of reusable bags. Over the course of the three-month challenge, the two towns cut back on almost 150,000 disposable plastic bags!  The winner of the challenge was Telluride and as a reward they received new solar panels for the local high school.  The solar panels come in the form of a grant issued by Alpine Bank.

Dave Allen, who spearheaded the effort with Aspen’s Nathan Ratledge, started contacting members of the Colorado Association of Ski Towns to see if a bigger challenge had yet to be born. Apparently, it was simply a matter of planting the seed and building momentum, because word of this eco-friendly rivalry spread quicker than skiers and boarders can cut first tracks and everyone wanted a shot at reducing their plastic bag consumption. Enter round two of the challenge.

Twenty-five ski towns throughout the Rocky Mountains are participating in the 2009 Colorado Association of Ski Towns (CAST) Reusable Bag Challenge sponsored by Alpine Bank. The contest runs now through September 1st, and the prize is the same (why change what works?)—solar panel energy for a public school in the winning town.

Towns like Durango are organizing their efforts through the towns Rotary youth groups.  Bags are tallied every time someone brings in a reusable bag, so if one person brings 5 bags, 5 tallies are counted. What a great way to get an entire community to rally around reducing plastic waste and using reusable shopping bags. Just think of what we could accomplish in a worldwide contest …

Why we need to reduce plastic – starting now!

Green Issues, ,

350px-north_pacific_gyre_world_mapHave you ever heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch ? It’s believed to be the world’s largest dump. Plastic debris from the world over makes its way into waterways, where it’s carried out to sea and trapped in swirling ocean currents, thereby forming a trash dump in the North Pacific that’s twice the size of Texas. Even Oprah’s talking about it !

Think that doesn’t affect you? About 46,000 pieces of plastic litter are floating in every square mile of ocean. Up to one million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals and sea turtles worldwide die each year from eating plastic. When two scientists in the Pacific caught a commercially harvested fish and cut it open, they found 17 pieces of plastic inside. We need to educate people are the very real consequences of our addiction to throw-away plastic. Captain Charle’s Moore, who confirmed the phenomenon in a 1977 sailing expedition, will begin more intense voyage in June, to further his research and help build awareness of this issue, according to the Huffinton Post.

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Reusable Bag Tip of the Week: You’re going to need a lot of bags!

Bulletin Bag Products, Reusable Bag Tips,

bavr1500allIf you’re like me, you’ve been ducking into stores for holiday errands between meetings or on your way to/from the office.

If you’re like me, you’ve compiled every last one of your folding reusable bags , and keep an arsenal by the door.

If you’re like me, you’re transferring them to the passenger seat of the car when you head out.

If you’re like me, you’re stashing bags in your purse each time you brave the holiday madness.

If you’re like me, you’re offering up reusable bags to cashiers at non-grocery stores who are completely and totally befuddled by your request (even though the store sells their own reusable bags!)

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Thinking About Reusable Bags – A Message to Cashiers and Baggers

Reusable Bag Tips,

Some didn’t see it coming, but the reusable bag movement has hit us like a big green tidal wave.  Isn’t it time for retailers to implement better training to effectively promote this important trend?

While it’s up to the consumer to bring their own bag, cashiers and baggers are the next line of defense in reducing wasteful plastic bags.  Whether it’s the grocery store, the corner store, or the mall — retailers are the key to breaking the plastic habit.

Consumers have started developing their own habits, like returning reusable bags to the car after unloading them, storing reusable bags near keys or writing ‘BRING YOUR OWN BAG’ at the top of the grocery list.  They might even carry a folding nylon reusable bag in a purse, pocket or glove compartment.  (…)

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