"After a year of the statewide fee on single-use plastic bags, the Eco-Cycle recycling center in Boulder estimates between 1.5 billion and 1.8 billion fewer plastic bags were used in Colorado in 2023.

The center anticipates a greater reduction in use in 2024 as businesses phase out the use of single-use plastic bags in most cases.

Eco-Cycle calculated its estimate by taking the number of plastic bags each American uses per year on average — 365, according to National Geographic— and factoring Colorado’s population, along with reduction estimates from several local communities.

Randy Moorman, Eco-Cycle’s director of policy and community campaigns, said the reduction is crucial because single-use plastic bags are the number one contaminant found in Colorado’s rivers and streams. They also are not able to be fully recycled and instead have to be “down-cycled” into other products...

Businesses in Colorado have until June to use whatever single-use plastic bags they already have while still collecting the 10-cent fee. The collected fees are divided between the business and the local government to fund green initiatives. Denver, for example, has collected $5 million for its special revenue fund since its fee was implemented in 2021.

Becky Goyton, an education coordinator with Denver’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, and Resiliency, said the money has funded many environmental initiatives, including the purchase of reusable bags for residents and sustainable products for small businesses. Unlike most budgetary matters, Goyton celebrates the decline in revenue to the fund.

“Having some revenue to do some great projects and reinvest in the community is wonderful, but it’s not our goal,” Goyton said. “Our goal is to see that fee go down and that revenue go down because that means more people are bringing their own bag and less disposable bags are being put out into the community.”

In addition to single-use plastic bags, Colorado businesses are also required to phase out Styrofoam containers this year. Like with plastic bags, businesses are permitted to use already-purchased Styrofoam products but cannot obtain any more."

-via ABC Denver7, January 11, 2024

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And further progress just kicked in at the beginning of this year:

"[On January 1, 2024], the next phase of Colorado's plastic bag ban takes effect. The next step for HB21-1162 is that stores will no longer have plastic bags at all. They will only offer recyclable paper bags which will still be 10 cents each. Stores that already have stock of plastic bags already, can use those up before making the transition...

Businesses that don't comply can face up to $500 in fines for a second violation and up to $1,000 in fines for a third and subsequent violation."

-via ABC Denver 7, December 25, 2023

Taylor found these bag bans did what they were supposed to: People in the cities with the bans used fewer plastic bags, which led to about 40 million fewer pounds of plastic trash per year.

But people who used to reuse their shopping bags for other purposes, like picking up dog poop or lining trash bins, still needed bags. "What I found was that sales of garbage bags actually skyrocketed after plastic grocery bags were banned," she says. This was particularly the case for small, 4-gallon bags, which saw a 120 percent increase in sales after bans went into effect.

Plastic haters, it's time to brace yourselves. A bunch of studies find that paper bags are actually worse for the environment. They require cutting down and processing trees, which involves lots of water, toxic chemicals, fuel and heavy machinery. While paper is biodegradable and avoids some of the problems of plastic, Taylor says, the huge increase of paper, together with the uptick in plastic trash bags, means banning plastic shopping bags increases greenhouse gas emissions. That said, these bans do reduce nonbiodegradable litter. […] A 2011 study by the U.K. government found a person would have to reuse a cotton tote bag 131 times before it was better for climate change than using a plastic grocery bag once. The Danish government recently did a study that took into account environmental impacts beyond simply greenhouse gas emissions, including water use, damage to ecosystems and air pollution. These factors make cloth bags even worse. They estimate you would have to use an organic cotton bag 20,000 times more than a plastic grocery bag to make using it better for the environment.

Surfrider Magazine

Ocean Friendly Restaurant Spotlight

The James Family have three children and their family home is in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, just a few miles from their oceanside restaurant. They rely on the surrounding lands and waterways for their entirely locally sourced menus. Protecting the ocean and coast is not just a business decision, but part of their personal values system. Every decision they make takes into account the impact on the local environment.

Some examples of their Ocean Friendly commitment include the use of renewabe energy, provision of locally sourced produts, eliminating single-use packaging, choosing environmentally friendly cleaning products, and reducing waste through composting and recycling. Becoming the first Ocean Friendly Restaurant in Maryland for Mother's Cantina was a natural reflection of the values they hold as a local business.

Mother's Cantina and the James Family use their platform to inform other businesses about transitioning to environmentally friendly practices. In coordination with the Ocean City Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, Mother’s Cantina holds informational meetings, promotes beach clean-ups, and takes every opportunity to publicly advocate for programs and policies that protect their environment. They advocate to ensure that other local restaurants learn about compostable packaging, eliminating straws, using renewable energy, and sourcing local products, all while keeping the bottom line in mind.

Ryan James recently represented the Eastern Shore with testimony in favor of HB109 foam ban, which went on to pass and make Maryland the first state to ban food service providers from offering polystyrene foam containers. With this recent success, the business is planning to continue their support for clean energy jobs, funding for the protection and support of the Chesapeake Bay, and supporting a local organic gardening program.

Mother's Cantina and the James Family are spreading the Ocean Friendly movement across Maryland and the Surfrider Foundation is proud to have them as a leader in the restaurant industry in the fight to protect clean water and healthy beaches!

Want to support an Ocean Friendly Restaurant near you?

go.surfrider.org/ofr-app displays a national map of Ocean Friendly Restaurants and you cand find and support your local sustainable business.

Watch the video that explains the program and the criteria to join.

thanks for the LOUD reminder bronx, ny

The new reusable bag thing is so stupid. They’re getting rid of plastic and paper bags and switching to “reusable” PLASTIC bags. Why get rid of the paper bags that people can reuse??? AND RECYCLE?!???? The new totes are 3 times the amount of plastic and will be degrade 3 times fucking slower. It already takes HUNDREDS OF YEARS for regular plastic bags. And to charge 74¢???

The Walmart plastic bag is a staple for poor houses!!! We use them as dog poop bags, bathroom trash can bags, going to ur moms house to shop, like what!!!!!! Everyone recycles them in their homes and this is soooo dumb

Fighting plastic pollution on several fronts

Fighting plastic pollution on several fronts

Fighting plastic pollution on several fronts

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Tell me why my mother in law just texted to ban me from the house (and my daughter) because I threw away a tampon and a diaper in the kitchen trash (THE ONLY TRASH CAN IN THE HOUSE NO BATHROOM TRASH NOTHING)

I am by no means someone who thinks all plastic should be banned. Plastic has its place in the world, particularly in my world of disabilty and chronic hospitalizations, among other scenarios

But the fact that like eighty percent of the time I can't even nuke a goddamn mug of water and then steep a teabag in it without releasing a billion microplastics that I'm about to drink is uh. Not good

International Plastic Bag Free Day | Plastics give a helping hand, but they are polluting our land!

This day symbolizes the significance of taking small steps in refusing plastic bags, which can contribute to monumental leaps for our beautiful, clean, and green environment. By choosing reusable alternatives and raising awareness about the harmful effects of plastic bags, we empower ourselves to make a positive impact.

International Plastic Bag Free Day

DPS Kamptee Road Nagpur 

Plastic, plastic, plastic. 🗑🥤🌍💵❌☠️

The whole "lets get rid of plastic bags 🤪🤪" and "lets get rid of plastic straws 🤪🤪🤪" campaigns were such a scam bc "oop lets get rid of these particular plastics bc of bad pr meanwhile lets do fuck all about all the other single use plastics that will 99,9% end up unrecycled and likely sent to another (much poorer) country"

i know ‘echo chambers are bad’ or whatever but it’s hard to want to step outside your circle when irl and online it’s not actually that hard to run into neo nazis

one regular would always get two bottles of wine literally first thing when we opened so we were always still setting up for the day but good news is it was always the same two bottles so i could somewhat multitask because i didn’t even need to look at the screen and he nearly always paid in exact change. and he’d get mad if you tried to bag them.

mailin was fine with all the plastic until zoe offered her a plastic spoon? make it make sense

recents (traveling girl edition)

i am going to have to eat nothing but baked beans, rice and pasta for like 2 weeks