On January 11, 2011 (1-11-11), plastic bags will be banned at checkout on Maui.
Top 10 B.Y.O.Bag Tips:
- Make “Bring Shopping Bag” your first item on your grocery list
- Bring an extra reusable bag to the store the next time you shop and give it away to a stranger who doesn’t have them. Ask them to Pay it Forward and give a reusable bag away the next time they shop.
- There are so many great designs available, give your friends and family reusable bags as gifts
- Set a good example by just saying no to single-use bags when you’re at the store. Others in line will follow suit!
- Keep your bags in the front seat so you can see them when you get out of the car or have a note on your dashboard to remind you they are in the trunk.
- Keep a bag in your purse or briefcase
- Put the bags back in your car after you empty them
- Keep a bag at the office
- Hang a bag on your front door knob or out by your shoes
- Promise your loved ones a store bought treat for being responsible for bringing the reusable bag
Did You Know?
- First introduced in 1977 as an alternative to paper bags, plastic bags now account for 4 out of every 5 bags handed out at grocery stores.
- Somewhere between 500 billion and a trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year.
- Solid materials, typically waste, that has found its way to the marine environment is called marine debris. It is known to be the cause of injuries and deaths of numerous marine animals and birds, either because they become entangled in it or they mistake it for prey and eat it.
- The world’s “great garbage patch” can be found floating between Hawaii and San Francisco. This garbage patch is estimated to be twice the size of Texas and thousands of pounds of our discarded trash, mostly plastics
- Each year the United States consumes 30 billion plastic grocery bags, requiring 12 million barrels of oil.
- The average American uses 300 to 700 plastic bags per year. If everyone in the United States tied their annual consumption of plastic bags together in a giant chain, the chain would reach around the Earth 760 times!
Check out these frequently asked questions on the County of Maui website: https://www.co.maui.hi.us/FAQ.aspx?QID=628
