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Litter Causes Street Shutdown

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

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.”

Build with Bags Helps the Environment and Communities

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

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

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.

Reusable Produce Bags

Reusable Produce Bags

In the battle against disposable bags some types of bags have been spared. Even under the strictest of bag bans plastic bags found in the produce department or in a bulk candy section usually make it out unscathed due to sanitary reasons. The inherent function of these bags does not make them any less dangerous to the environment. Plastic produce bags are not biodegradable and like their grocery shopping bag equivalents these bags are most likely destined to take up space in landfills or whether intentional or not become litter.

Sustainable Properties of Bamboo

Sustainable Properties of Bamboo

It is understood that reusable bags are safer on the environment, but once you decide to make the switch to reusable bags your decisions do not end there. Reusable shopping bags are definitely better for the environment than disposable plastic bags, but not all reusable bags are the same. Bags constructed from bamboo offer an unparalleled level of sustainability and eco-friendliness.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Located in the Pacific Ocean are a number of circular currents that run several thousand miles wide and are known as the North Pacific Gyre. Most vessels making the journey between the mainland United States and Hawaii typically try to avoid this high-pressure system in the central Pacific Ocean because the water lacks the nutrients necessary for fruitful fishing and it lacks the wind needed to propel vessels relying on the winds power to thrust them across the ocean. Trash and debris that find its way into the ocean from Pacific Rim countries travel via these currents and accumulate about 1,000 miles off the California coast all the way to the coast of Japan into what has come to be known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Girl Scouts Encourage Reusable Bags and Water Bottles

Girl Scouts Encourage Reusable Bags and Water Bottles

As Girl Scouts across the country commemorate their 100th anniversary of their organization, they are participating in a Take Action Project that they have dubbed the Forever Green program with the goal to educate girls about the environment and sustainability. Teaching girls about the impact waste has on our shared world and how to reduce the amount of non-biodegradable waste each of us contributes to landfills with single-use plastic bags and bottles. Learning how using reusable grocery bags and water bottles can reduce their carbon footprint.

Kids Support Reusable Bag Message

Kids Support Reusable Bag Message

Kindergarten students at Dillon Valley Elementary in Colorado, which is about 70 miles west of Denver, recently, completed a six week unit on water and oceans, and a main point the kids took away from their studies was that plastic bags are just no good. Lessons focused on water quality and ways to protect our waterways, students learned about the destructive impact of litter and that disposable plastic bags make up the overwhelming majority of litter. The devastating toll plastic bags take on the environment, particularly the world’s oceans, was an eye opener for the kids. Many of the children were saddened by the knowledge that marine animals can become entangled or mistakenly eat discarded plastic bags which lead to their deaths. Empowered with this knowledge the students made the decision to forgo plastic bags in favor of reusable shopping bags.

Caring for Reusable Shopping Bags

Caring for Reusable Shopping Bags

There is no denying the many merits of reusable bags, from the environmental impact to the cost savings for both the stores that supply disposable bags and the municipalities that pick up litter. Reusable shopping bags definitely are a step in the right direction on many fronts, but they require some care and attention. If not properly cared for reusable bags can possibly nurture and spread bacteria. A few studies have been done on the issue and while the amounts of bacteria found were minimal, exposure is all it takes to become ill. Remember to bring your bags

Choosing Reusable Bags Over Paper Bags

Choosing Reusable Bags Over Paper Bags

Plastic bags have come under fire lately, as they should. Resources are drained to create these bags and only a small percentage ends up being recycled, leaving the rest to either sit in landfills or litter streets, parks, and wildlife habitats. To put an end to the environmental and financial havoc plastic bags wreck on the world many cities have taken to banning plastic bags to encourage the use of reusable shopping bags. Many such bans include a section concerning paper bags. A typical ban consists of a straight out prohibition of plastic bags, but allows paper bags to be

Madison’s Plastic Bag Recycling Solution

There is seldom a one-size-fits all solution to big problems, and the folks of Madison, Wisconsin are proving that point. As cities all across the United States are banning plastic disposable bag in hopes of reducing litter and preventing these non-biodegradable nuisances from taking up space in garbage dumps, Madison decided to step up efforts to recycle plastic bags. In 2009 Madison began a plastic bag recycling program. Drop-off locations were setup throughout the area and residents could simply deposit their plastic bags.

Returnable Container Laws and Reusable Water Bottles

Returnable Container Laws and Reusable Water Bottles

In an effort to combat litter and encourage recycling many states have enacted returnable container laws, more commonly referred to as bottle bills. Oregon was the first state to put such a trailblazing law into place in 1972 and since that time 10 other states have passed similar legislation. Between that and rise in the use of reusable water bottles, less and less is winding up in landfills.

Reducing Your Carbon Footprint With Reusable Bags

Reducing Your Carbon Footprint With Reusable Bags

Reducing your carbon footprint is an eco-friendly lifestyle choice that may seem daunting, but is completely attainable. To best understand how to reduce your carbon footprint you need to understand what it is exactly. The carbon reference relates to carbon emissions that result from burning fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and gas. These fuels are used to power cars, create electricity, heat homes, manufacture goods, and a whole slew of other things. The footprint is a measure of use. So every time you drive your gas-powered car or carry groceries home in petroleum-based plastic bags you increase your carbon footprint.

Health worries with BPA that won’t go away

Concerns over the impact on health of BPA – a chemical compound widely used in everyday plastic items – spiked again this week. The release of a study into BPA contamination, from the eating of cans of soup, showed that levels of bisphenol-A (BPA) rose tenfold in volunteers consuming such soups regularly.

Jute Reusable Grocery Bags– green fiber with the golden future?

Jute Reusable Grocery Bags– green fiber with the golden future?

It’s called ‘the golden fiber’, and its long glistening threads are often touted as one the most environmentally-friendly of fabrics. But whether jute is found easing your load when shopping, woven into sustainable clothing – or even spun into a fine faux silk – how do those claims of being the green material of choice stack up? What lies behind the push to make jute the eco-fabric of our time?

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