Notice the BYOB craze these days? (And no, we’re not talking about the bring your own booze trend, although that’s appealing, too!). We’re talking about the Bring Your Own Bag movement, which has helped reduce the number of single use plastic and paper bags consumed in our culture by encouraging consumers to bring their own reusable bags.
At Harvest Market, we are a BYOB establishment. We offer a $.10 rebate for every bag that customers bring in and use for their purchases. In 2015, we averaged 632 bag rebates per week, so over the course of one year, our customers saved 32,864 paper bags, totaling 82 bales of bags. At about 40 pounds per bale, that adds up to 3,280 pounds of (recycled) wood pulp saved from use! All our paper bags are made from 100% recycled paper and promote our partnership with the Buy Fresh Buy Local campaign.
FAQ’s by the Numbers
1,000,000,000,000 plastic bags used worldwide each year
102,000,000,000 plastic bags used in the U.S. each year
1,000 – # of plastic bags not used when just one reusable bag is used instead
500 – the number of bags used by the average American each year
14 – # of plastic bags manufactured from the same amount of petroleum a car uses to drive a mile
2 – rank of plastic bags found on Delaware’s annual Coastal Cleanup Day (cigarette butts #1)
1 – the # of people it takes to make a difference
Your Advocacy Needed Now
Light weight “single use” plastic bags litter our communities, enter our watersheds, are consumed by animals with tragic results, and clog our stormwater systems and our recycling plants. Does this information lead you to want a ban single use plastic bags in Delaware? Currently, there is a piece of legislation called House Bill 202, An Act to Reduce Litter and Pollution Caused by “Single Use” Plastic Bags.
Ban the Bag Delaware, a local environmental effort headed up by the Delaware Plastic Pollution Action Coalition, introduced this bill in late June 2015, and proposes to expand upon the existing at-store recycling program regarding the use of single-use plastic bags. The current law requiring larger retailers to have recycling containers for plastic bags and film will continue, however the larger stores subject to this program (more than 7,000 sq.ft or three or more locations of 3,000 sq.ft. each) would be required to charge 5 cents for every single use carryout bag that is provided to customers. This includes paper and plastic, so the public would be encouraged to shift to reusable bags. The purpose of the bill is to clean up our communities and watersheds, reduce storm water and trash management costs to taxpayers, and promote the health and safety of watersheds and wildlife.
Sound like something you can get behind? Click here to add your name to the Change.org Petition which reads:
We, the undersigned, support statewide action to curtail the provision by retail stores of free “single-use” plastic bags and we urge statewide elected officials to pass legislation to that effect. This action will promote the health and safety of wildlife and watersheds, reduce toxins in our food chain, protect the natural beauty of our communities, conserve our resources, and reduce trash and storm water management costs to taxpayers.
Earth Month
Ban the Bag Delaware will be visiting Harvest Market and educating our customers and staff about the ban of single use plastic bags in Delaware. We hope you can join us to celebrate Earth Month and take action locally to preserve and protect our shared environment.
Thank you to everyone who reuses bags in your daily purchases! You are making a difference in our world.
