Win-win Plastic Bag Reduction Strategies for Businesses and Communities

Presented in partnership:

GreenBusinessOwner.com * Ecopreneurist.comInspiredEconomist.com * Bulletin Bag* Sustainable Living Institute of Maui

June 6, 6 PM EST

Other webinarssign up for our newsletter at greenbusinessowner.com

Single-use plastics• Forks, plates, cups, bags, bowls, ties...• Derived from petroleum: 784,000 bbl in Australia• Shipped thousands of miles• Processed into non-biodegradable materials• Shipped again• Used for 1-5 minutes• Take 1000 years to degrade• Technically recyclable, but not realistically• 46x more plastic than plankton• Leach chemicals into our food• Plastic icebergs can sink ships!*

*not proven yet. : )photo courtesy ingridtaylar on Flickr Creative Commons

How often do you bring your own reusable bags?

38%

42%

19%Always

Most of the time

Sometimes

What do you think is the most effective strategy for plastic bag reduction?

23%

42%

19%

5%8% 3% In-store credits

Community bans

In-store fees

free boxes

community fees

public awareness campaigns

How much does each plastic bag cost taxpayers in disposal and cleanup costs, on average?

46%

23%

27%

4% More than 5 cents

Nothing/minimal

2-3 cents

4-5 cents

How much does each plastic bag cost taxpayers in disposal and cleanup costs, on average?

What is cleanup? 50-80 million bags end up on Australia’s beaches, streets, and parks annually Just cleanup of pollution/litter: Austin, TX: 0.33 cents

Recycling, collection, disposal: California study: 17 cents per bag

Cost passed on to consumer for free plastic bags at stores: $10-15 per household annually (Australia)

http://www.cawrecycles.org/issues/plastic_campaign/plastic_bags/problemhttp://www.marrickville.nsw.gov.au/action/NOTEMPLATE?s=0,pURL=plastic_bag_facts,

Do you believe plastic bag recycling is effective?

34%

57%

9% Not at all

Very

Somewhat

Do you believe plastic bag recycling is effective?

Less than 3% of bags are recycled annually (Australia)

5.2% in U.S. were recycled in 2005 (EPA)

http://www.marrickville.nsw.gov.au/action/NOTEMPLATE?s=0,pURL=plastic_bag_facts,http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/01/weekinreview/01basics.html

Nonbiodegradable plastics are accumulating in the world’s oceans:

Phthalates and other compounds are leaching

into seafood

Disposal

“Being part of ACC's advocacy team provides the opportunity to collaborate with our peers on issues of common concern, such as manufacturing guidelines to protect public safety and health. We challenge each other to raise the bar for our industry and then hold each other to maintaining that level”

-Brian Ferguson, Former Chairman of the Board for ACC

ACC funded study:o Bacteria found in reusable bagso Timed to coincide with CA statewide ban voteo Health officials concluded the bacteria was not abnormal, or the type or levels that would be a threato Regardless, ACC Produced PR campaign to “educate” consumers of the dangers of reusable bags...and it

worked

h"p://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2010/06/25/128105740/plas:cs-­‐industry-­‐funded-­‐study-­‐finds-­‐bacteria-­‐in-­‐reusable-­‐grocery-­‐bags

h"p://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-­‐dyn/content/ar:cle/2010/06/24/AR2010062406143.htmlh"p://www.chicagotribune.com/health/sns-­‐green-­‐bacteria-­‐in-­‐shopping-­‐bags,0,4837500.story  h"p://news.consumerreports.org/safety/2010/07/can-­‐reusable-­‐grocery-­‐bags-­‐make-­‐you-­‐sick-­‐or-­‐is-­‐that-­‐just-­‐baloney.html

Hawaii State Representative Joe Souki:

o Paid $24,000 annually by the ACCo Helped defeat Styrofoam ban in Mauio Helped defeat plastic bag fees on Oahu

h"p://greenbusinessowner.com/hawaii-­‐becomes-­‐first-­‐state-­‐in-­‐u-­‐s-­‐to-­‐ban-­‐plas:c-­‐bags/h"p://www.staradver:ser.com/news/breaking/151028385.html

Hawaii couldn’t pass a statewide plastic bag ban, but county by county, it happened anyway. On May 10, 2012, Honolulu County became the last to pass a plastic bag ban, making Hawaii the first plastic bag free state.

LA  Climate  AcCon  Club  

(Damarisco"a,  Maine)

   Lincoln  Academy  Climate  Ac:on  Club’s  “Small  Town….Big  Difference”  campaign    Bags  sponsored  by  13  community  businesses    Bags  sold  in  stores  with  coffee  can/honor  system  for  collec:ng  money

h"p://laclimateac:on.webs.com/

Nurture  Nature  Design  Contest(Maine  -­‐  statewide)

   State-­‐wide  reusable  bag  design  contest  for  grades  3  –  7    Promoted  in  grocery  stores  and  via  teacher  outreach    Over  400  entries  received    1000  reusable  bags  distributed  to  par:cipants  and  general  public

h"p://www.bulle:nbag.com/blog/Page-­‐12.html

Kids  for  a  Cooler  Planet(Hanover,  New  Hampshire)

   Project  started  by  Hanover  High  School  students  (NH)    Convinced  local  stores  to  offer  and  promote  reusable  bags    Worked  with  NH  governor  and  legislators  to  pass  resolu:on  to  support  reusable  bags    Outreach  and  awareness  campaign  for  younger  students  and  community

h"p://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2sShAerL8A

Colorado  Ski  Towns  Reusable  Bag  Challenge

   Contest  involved  32  mountain  towns  in  Colorado,  Utah,  Wyoming  and  Idaho    Town  with  highest  reusable  bag  rate  was  awarded  $10,000  toward  solar  for  community  school.    Town  of  Basalt  won  by  elimina:ng  an  es:mated  48  plas:c  bags  per  person.

http://www.bulletinbag.com/blog/reusable-bags-for-shopping-lead-to-solar-power.html

Tips to discontinue plastic bags for businesses

-Offer cloth bags for purchase-Announce your shift to “No Plastic bags” and make it a fun day of freedom from the bag. Post reminders outside your business.-Crowdsource a cool design for cloth bags with your logo and No Plastic message for great longterm marketing.-Use a chalkboard or other public display to count up how much plastic you and your customers have saved. -Form a coalition with other businesses to do the same and encourage your government to ban single use paper or plastic bags

DC Bag Tax- Case Study-January 1, 2010 Washington, D.C. implemented a $0.05 tax for each disposable carryout bag (paper or plastic) taken at the time of checkout, with the Anacostia River Clean Up and Protection Act

-Plastic bag use reduced 80% from 2009.

-$2 million revenue for environmental clean-up projects

-78% of merchants experienced zero or positive effect of this ban.

How to do it:• Start local• Build coalitions: business, citizen groups, governments• Publicize the business connection strongly!• Create profit motives for partners• Expect powerful resistance from lobbyists...there will be setbacks• Engage youth and teachers• Create contests• Be ridiculous...and have fun

photo courtesy Heal the Bay on Flickr Creative Commons

What do you prefer to see on reusable bags?

27%

31%

31%

12% Nature image

Fun environmental message

Brand name

Nothing