BYOB #bagitnyc

[Picture Credit]

Have you heard of Bill No.1135? How about the Ban the Bag movement? Well, it's happening in NYC and it might be happening or has happened where you are...

The objective is simple, reduce the number of single use plastic bags used - you know the ones, the ones that are so thin you need to double or triple bag in order to carry home some apples (... or candy... no judgement).

Did you know that NYC spends 10 MILLION DOLLARS a year just to get rid of plastic bags? Ridiculous, right? Don't believe me? I hear it from NYC Deputy Commissioner for Recycling and Sustainability, Ron Gonen himself.

These plastic bags are such a low quality of plastic "film" that they are not worth recycling because no one is really interested with the resulting plastic product. (This being said, there are some very creative individuals out there...) So our bags end up in landfills somewhere or for many of them they remain in our environment floating around our streets, and wrapping around tree branches. These bags won't degrade for years and they release toxic particles in the environment. Either whole or in particle form, these plastic bags frequently end up as very unhealthy and in many cases deadly snacks for marine organisms.

Instagram #bagitnyc

The bill proposes the add a convenience fee of 10 cents for every bag you use. Why? In hopes that this 10 cent fee will motivate us shoppers to bring reusable bags with us.

Whether or not you think this bill should be put in place, using reusable bags is a good idea - not just for the environment but also for the sake of your hands that may have to carry heavy bags up all the way up to your oh so quaint 5th floor walk up.

BYOB can also mean Bring Your Own Bag...

Take care!


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Want to take action?
http://www.citizensnyc.org/sign-bag-it-nyc-petition

Participate on Instagram by geo tagging pictures of plastic bags seen around NYC, add the #bagitnyc for it to add it to the ever growing community map

Bring it to the classroom! http://www.bagitmovie.com/downloads/EducationPacket_7.pdf

Need more info? 
https://bagitnyc.org/

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/bag-it-nyc-plan-sees-dime-charge-plastic-or-paper-f6C10974920

http://www.bagitmovie.com/

http://vimeo.com/19755590

Want to read opposing views? 
http://stopthebagban.com/Why-bag-bans-are-wrong.php

Interested in alternative uses for plastic bags? 
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/02/12/those-much-maligned-plastic-grocery-bags-can-run-your-diesel-truck-or-car/

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Sources: 
Bag it. Dir. Jennifer Abbott and Mark Achbar. Perf. Ray Anderson and Noam 
     Chomsky. Docurama, 2011. Film. 
Gonen, Ron. Hewitt's Ban the Bag Even. The Hewitt School, New York. 1 Mar. 2014. 
     Address. NYC Deputy Commissioner for Recycling and Sustainability