Business Bag Ban Media, Policy & Education
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The Impacts of Single-Use Carryout Bags
Santa Monica retail establishments
distribute approximately 26 million (26,000,000) single-use carryout
bags each year. They contribute to:
- increased litter (including storm drain, marine and beach
pollution), that persists in the environment for decades
- green house gas emissions
- Santa Monica’s residents and other taxpayers pay the clean-up costs
and landfill fees.
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Background on Single-Use Bags
- Only since 1982 have retailers provided “free” bags to consumers (retailers pass the cost of the “free bags” to shoppers).
- The average “free” single-use bag is used 12 minutes before being released as pollution in the environment or waste into the landfill.
- 19 billion (19,000,000,000) single-use plastic bags are used annually in California.
- Less than 5% of plastic bags are actually recycled.
Posters and Flyers - Graphical Support
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Click here to find out! |
Reusable Bag Purchase and Green Jobs
GreenVetsLA is a Los Angeles sewing company who partners with the Veterans Administration Hospital in West Los Angeles to manufacture all the reusable bags that were provided to the Santa Monica community. Returning veterans are hired and trained to produce these sturdy reusable bags that are made locally from reclaimed military fabric otherwise destined for the landfill.
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“Bring Your Bag” Outreach Campaign
The “Bring Your Bag” posters and signage were developed by the Office of Sustainability and the Environment in partnership with community groups throughout Santa Monica. Community members were photographed for the 16 posters and truck signage.
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Policy Resources
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Media Links
- Local Celebrities Remind People to Bring a Bag - Santa Monica Daily Press, Oct. 20, 2011
- Radio Interview : Dean Kubani on KCRW's Good Food. Oct. 1, 2011. Segment begins at 5min:30sec
Office of Sustainability and the Environment Director Dean Kubani discusses plastics, and the City of Santa Monica's efforts to reduce harm to the environment from the use of plastics.
- No More Plastic Bags in Santa Monica - care2.com/causes, Sep. 5, 2011
- Santa Monica Plastic Bag Ban Enforcement Finally Arrives - smmirror.com, Sep. 1, 2011
- Plastic bag ban takes effect in Santa Monica - Santa Monica Daily Press, Sep. 1, 2011
- LA Weekly, Aug. 29, 2011
- Plastic Bag Ban Spawns Reusable Bag Exchange Program - smmirror.com, July 23, 2011
- New Program to Breathe Life into Old Bags - Santa Monica Daily Press, July 21, 2011
- Plastic shopping bag ban begins in Santa Monica - L.A. Times, Mar. 9, 2011
- Plastic bag ban takes effect - Santa Monica Daily Press, Mar. 9, 2011
- Market Watch: Santa Monica's ban on plastic bags — what it means - L.A. Times, Feb. 4, 2011
- No Lawsuit Against Santa Monica's Plastic Bag Ban - Santa Monica Mirror, Feb. 1, 2011
- Editorial: Backing the Bag Ban - Santa Monica Daily Press, Jan. 28, 2011
- Los Angeles Times, Jan. 27, 2011
- Santa Monica Mirror, Jan. 26, 2011
- Santa Monica Daily Press, Jan. 26, 2011
- The Majestic Plastic Bag - A Mockumentary - Heal the Bay's tongue-in-cheek look at the life-cycle of a single-use carryout bag
- Veterans heal through sewing - Santa Monica Daily Press
(producing durable reusable bags for free distribution by the City)
Please email all inquiries to BringYourBag@smgov.net
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Last updated: Tuesday, 04/10/2012
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