Eco News | Eco-friendly Marketing Blog for Reusable Items

California Youth Making Waves and Encouraging Sustainable Reusable Bags

In some regards southern California is on the right track when it comes to caring for the environment and reducing the amount of plastic shopping bags used within the area. Several towns and cities have either outright banned plastic shopping bags or are mulling the idea over. Evan Lewis, of La Jolla, feels these changes cannot come soon enough. This enterprising 11 year old is researching the cause, speaking at city council meetings, writing articles and doing everything he can to make plastic shopping bags a distant memory.

Corvallis Oregon Says Goodbye to Disposable Shopping Bags

The Corvallis Oregon City Council unanimously voted recently to ban disposable plastic shopping bags in retail outlets. This move makes Corvallis, a city of about 54,000 people located 82 miles southwest of Portland and home to Oregon State University, the second city in Oregon to ban single-use plastic bags. Portland was the first city and Eugene is making great strides in their quest to become the third Oregon city to ban disposable plastic shopping bags.

Student Art Centered on Zero Waste

In an effort to spread environmental awareness and encourage artistic expression the annual Resource Recovery and Recycling Division’s 2012 Art of Recycling Sustainable Student Sculpture Contest was recently held. As part of the contest Santa Monica students are invited to create and submit sculptures made from materials which are usually recycled or thrown away. The goal was to get people thinking about zero waste, as the theme “Zero Waste—Imagine a Waste Free Santa Monica” clearly identified. By creating art from trash not only did the students find new uses for discarded items, but they also were forced to think about how much garbage they create and how they currently dispose of it compared to how they should manage it.

GREEN Northampton Laying the Groundwork for a Plastic Bag Ban

A grassroots movement is underway in the town of Northampton, Massachusetts. The objective is to put an end to Styrofoam take-out containers and disposable plastic bags. GREEN Northampton, a nonprofit, community-driven organization is leading this charge. According to their website, this group’s mission is to foster Northampton’s community bonds and promote environmentally sustainable, low-energy, and healthy lifestyles in response to climate change and resource depletion. GREEN Northampton has many big and impressive goals and ultimately they want to make the world a better place, starting with their city.

Reusable Bag Banks Popping Up in Aspen

An interesting experiment is happening in Aspen, Colorado. Reusable bag banks are being setup throughout the city. Aspen voted a bag ban into law back in September and it took effect on May 1 of this year. The ban outlaws disposable plastic shopping bags and levies a 20 cent fee on paper bags. One month into the ban and it is estimated that 80-90 percent of shoppers are bringing their own reusable bags when they head out to the store. The concept of the bag bank is similar to the ‘take a penny, leave a penny’ trays you may see at a convenience store counter. The bag banks are metal baskets in which residents can deposit their extra reusable grocery bags for others who may need a bag to take as needed. Only reusable bags are to be placed in the basket.

Seattle’s Bag Ban Quickly Approaching

July 1 is a big day – this is the day the plastic bag ban will take effect in Seattle, Washington. The ban was passed back in December and it has an impact on all stores from small mom-and-pop ventures to large retail chains. While some shoppers are already bringing their own reusable bags, there are still some folks who disagree with the ban and there continue to be small movements to overturn the law. Shortly after the ban was voted in there was a petition to get the issue on a ballet so the people of Seattle could decide on the matter; however, this grassroots movement failed to get enough signatures for the plastic bag ban to go to a city-wide vote.

Illinois’ Law to Recycle Instead of Ban Plastic Bags

The state of Illinois is on the verge of some groundbreaking legislation regarding disposable plastic bags and as to be expected not everyone is on board with it, but the surprising thing is that most of those opposed to the ban are from the environmentalist camp. The proposal has already been approved by state lawmakers and all that is left to make this proposal an official law is the approval and signature from the governor, Pat Quinn. If this proposal gets the Governors autograph (Quinn has not indicated publicly if he intends to sign or veto the proposal) it will go into effect on July 1, 2013. What sets this measure apart from every other plastic bag ban and the countless taxes and fees levied against these disposable bags is that Illinois is looking to pass a statewide law that would make the plastic bag manufacturers step up efforts to recycle bags.

NPR Asks About Disposable and Reusable Shopping Bags

In a segment titled TELL ME MORE, Michel Martin of NPR News recently conducted an interview with Michel Bolinder of the group Anacostia Riverkeeper and Nick Gillespie, the editor-in-chief of the libertarian magazine, Reason. These gentlemen sat down together to discuss the pros and cons of fees or taxes levied against disposable plastic bags and outright bans on these disposable bags, as well as the environmental and societal impact of measures taken to curb plastic bag use in favor of reusable shopping bags.

Fort McMurray’s Curious Problem

The folks of Fort McMurray in Alberta Canada have been living with a disposable bag ban for about 9 months, and while there have been some bumps in the road things are going very well. In 2010 the regional council unanimously voted to ban single-use plastic and paper shopping bags after the residents handed over a petition in favor of a ban with 2,300 signatures. The ban went into effect in September 2011 and the residents have been adjusting to life with reusable grocery bags and shopping ever since.

Carmel and Pacific Grove Latest California Cities to Ponder Plastic Bag Ban

At the rate things have been going it should not be long before there are more cities in the state of California with bans on disposable plastic shopping bags than cities and towns without such bans. Northern California is a hotbed of bag ban activity, although the southern portion of the state has been making tremendous strides in the past year. Carmel-by-the-Sea and Pacific Grove are two of the more recent California cities navigating the plastic bag ban waters in favor of going reusable for grocery bags and shopping bags.

Corpus Christi Urges Retailers and Residents to Fix Litter Problem

Corpus Christi, Texas has a litter problem. While the litter is varied, plastic bags are a main component and the City spends about $190,000 annually cleaning up disposable plastic shopping bags lifted by gusts of wind from the city landfill. Not only is the litter an eyesore, but the cleanup is expensive and the litter does not do any favors for the tourism industry, which is a vibrant part of the local economy given the City’s prime location on the beautiful Corpus Christi Bay.

Cleveland Collaborating with County to Reduce Plastic Bags

Cuyahoga County in Ohio is home to the City of Cleveland and both municipalities are joining forces in the fight against plastic bags. As has been seen time and time again getting rid of plastic bags is no easy task and the City and County Councils are working with the county health department, solid waste district and community activists to figure out how to completely
do away with plastic bags. The City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County want to stop the use of plastic bags and they understand the enormity of this undertaking. They hope that by working together they can pool their ideas and resources and make plastic bags a distant memory.

Windham Weighs Bag Ban

After a local 8th grader made a proposal to the Town Council in Windham, Maine the town, located about 16 miles northwest of Portland, found itself in a predicament. The student, Sierra Yost, made a presentation urging the Council to ban single-use plastic shopping bags and impose a 10-cent fee on non-recyclable paper bags in stores larger than 2,500 square feet. Yost was inspired after seeing the documentary film, ‘Bag It.’

Litter Causes Street Shutdown

A stray plastic bag recently caused a street in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn to be shut down. No one knows for sure where the bag came from, but the discarded bag was stuck in a tree and a resident of a building near the tree alerted police to a ‘suspicious’ looking plastic bag. Emergency crews blocked off the street to vehicle and pedestrian traffic and had residents and employees from local businesses remain indoors while they investigated for about an hour until the situation was deemed safe and the street was re-opened. In the end it was determined that the plastic bag contained a battery with wires attached to it – this most certainly added to the suspiciousness of the ordeal.

Toronto Mayor Wants to Quash Plastic Bag Fee

In 2009 the City of Toronto issued a 5-cent fee on disposable plastic bags. The objective was simple: to discourage shoppers from using the environmentally harmful plastic bags and encourage the use of reusable shopping bags. By all accounts this bylaw has been a tremendous success. About 215 million plastic bags are used annually in Toronto these days, down from 457 million before the fee was in place. Despite this, Mayor Rob Ford is looking to do away with the fee. On his weekly radio show Ford recently stated, “This bag tax has been around too long.” When questioned further, Ford stated, “I don’t believe taxpayers want to pay the 5 cents anymore.”

SeaWorld Bans Plastic Bags in all Parks

Last year SeaWorld in San Diego looked at ways to reduce plastic bags in conjuncture with the opening of the Turtle Reef attraction. The program has been such a success that the company plans to eliminate plastic bags in all 10 locations across the country over the next year. SeaWorld Orlando will discontinue the use of plastic bags to coincide with the opening of their latest attraction, Turtle Trek. The devastating toll plastic bags wreck on the environment hit especially close to home for SeaWorld. Caring for wildlife and their natural habitats is part of SeaWorld’s mission.

Build with Bags Helps the Environment and Communities

The Iowa Grocery Industry Association (IGIA) decided something had to be done about the disposable plastic bag problem. The bags are eyesores which are seldom recycled as they should be, and instead they float around as litter or take up space in landfills. Many municipalities implement bans of the bags, and while that may work for some people in some places the IGIA felt that was not the best fit and solution for the folks of Iowa. The IGIA came up with an ingenious plan of action and created the Build with Bags program. They secured sponsorships from some likeminded organizations, including Keep Iowa Beautiful, the Des Moines Area Metro Waste Authority, Iowa Department of Natural Resources and The Des Moines Register and they laid out a plan.

The Facts Behind Plastic Bag Recycling

A recent study confirmed that while 91% of Americans have access to recycling plastic single use bags locally, most do not. The study was conducted by Moore Recycling Associates Inc. and focused on flexible polyethylene film, of which disposable plastic bags are made. It turns out there are over 15,000 locations throughout the United States where disposable plastic bags can be dropped off for recycling. Most of these designated drop-off locations are at stores. Many major retailers, such as Target and Wal-Mart, place bins near the door where shoppers can deposit their old bags as they make their way into the store.

Establish Customer Loyalty with Eco-Friendly Promotional Gear

Promoting your brand can seem like a hassle and you may ask yourself how useful is it really to print your company’s logo on some tchotchkes? It turns out it can be very useful. Printing your logo on a commonly used item is a great marketing ploy because every time your clients reach for the item they will be reminded, at least subconsciously, of your brand. Particularly useful items that people will use again and again will have that many more opportunities to stamp your marketing message on their mind and increase your brand recognition. Creating a stellar promotional item is more than just picking a neat or practical item and slapping your logo on it. Think about items your customer base will be interested in or have a need for and will find value or use in. Also think about the materials the product is made from and how that will shape people’s opinion of the item and by extension your company.

The City of LA Ponders Double Bag Ban

Los Angeles County has been hard at work drafting and implementing a ban on plastic bags that also calls to charge a fee to use paper bags; however, this ban only applies to the unincorporated areas of the County – the areas that do not fall under any municipalities. Not to be outdone, the City of Los Angeles has decided to put their own bag ban into action. This ban has been described as “one of the most aggressive actions against single-use bags in the nation.