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Where’s Your Bag? City Kicks Off Reuse Campaign
The city of Santa Barbara Environmental Services Department has just one question for you: Where’s your bag?
Expect to see that question posed often, starting in the next few weeks. Signs heralding the slogan will be posted throughout grocery store parking lots and in store windows in an effort to encourage shoppers to choose reusable bags instead of paper or plastic.
On Friday, the campaign’s kickoff event at De la Guerra Plaza was designed as an educational forum, and city workers and volunteers handed out reusable totes to passers-by.
The city has been working on the campaign for several months, in conjunction with the California Grocers Association, Santa Barbara Channelkeeper, Choose to Reuse and Tri-County Produce.
It’s an educational outreach campaign about the negative impact of plastic — and paper — bags, intended as a gentler approach to reuse rather than an outright ban on plastic or a fee, as other municipalities have done.
Lorraine Cruz Carpenter, an environmental specialist with the city, said 11 grocery stores are participating in the campaign, including smaller, local stores such as Tri-County Produce, 335 S. Milpas St.
“At this point, we find it important to kick off something educational,” she said. “I think most people in this city want to do it, they just don’t understand what the impacts are. We don’t want to promote anything regulatory at this point. We want to reach out first and ask them to voluntarily do these things.”
Plastic, because of its light weight, often blows around and ends up in city streets, or meanders down drains to eventually end up in the ocean, she said.
Dave Heylen, a representative of the California Grocers Association, which represents 80 percent of the state’s grocers, attended Friday’s event. He said the group is supportive of the campaign.
“Reusable bags are just one of those win-win situations,” he said.
The real challenge, he said, is changing consumer behavior.
Santa Barbara City Councilwoman Helene Schneider agreed.
“It would be great if nobody used plastic bags, but you’ve got to make it easy,” she said. “As opposed to forcing it down people’s throats, this is a way that people can proactively do something they feel good about.”
Sometimes people need a reminder, though, Schneider said, and having signs near the stores should be helpful.
She said that working with grocers to make sure they train cashiers and baggers to ask customers whether they brought their reusable bags also will be key.
“Santa Barbara is the perfect community to make this work,” Schneider said.
— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Comments
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» on 08.28.09 @ 08:27 PM
I live near Los Robles park, popular with dog owners. Although there’s a city poop bag dispenser, most of the time it’s empty. Neighbors help keep this park nice by recycling their plastic bags for visitors to use.
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» on 08.28.09 @ 09:10 PM
The city probably wants the dog poop to be recycled in recyclable bags.
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» on 08.29.09 @ 08:34 AM
When we shop, we come out of there with maybe 10-15 plastic bags full of food. Am I to carry that many reusable bags around with me? I can’t see it. We responsibly reuse our plastic bags for various household uses.
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» on 08.29.09 @ 08:57 AM
Please, while the city is apparently deeply concerned with this project perhaps they could address the situation concerning leaf blowers with the same fervour? Even their own workers seem obsessed with this activity by adding clouds of toxic dust to our environment, and we have to breathe the results of these mechanical toys. No rain for weeks and we are still surrounded by the dust and grime from the fires fallout. Please help those of us with allergies and everyone who has the right to breathe fresh and unpolluted air. Who cares if a few leaves,God forbid,should drop from the trees? That’s nature after all. Try living in New England. Stop sacrificing the environment to some crazy idea that nature should be leafless and bare. Ban blowing and bring back the BROOM along with the BAGS!!!! Or cut down every tree,destroy every bush in town, revert to the natural terrain, and listen to what the community and the environmentalists have to say about THAT!
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» on 08.29.09 @ 10:20 AM
To BB2,
Yes, this is a problem with a large grocery buy-in. In the past I discovered when I went to the market I would come away with my own bags plus extra from the store which defeated the purpose! Just recently I have started to save the brown bags with handles which are easy to keep in the back of my car and place in the cart on my way in. 10 or 15 cloth bags would be awkward.
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» on 08.29.09 @ 11:00 AM
Great, but unless you know this is event going to be happening, you can’t be there to take part. When is the next event, I wonder?
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» on 08.29.09 @ 12:03 PM
This is just a trial balloon to see if they can get away with legislation to BAN plastic bag use altogether as in other Cities like Berzerkely. Marty Blum has enviro-envy of other cities. Voluntary is the first step to mandatory. Do something useful and go after the manufacturers who use disposable plastic indiscriminately to deter shoplifting. Stop nagging, shaming, intimidating and terrorizing the consumer!!
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» on 08.29.09 @ 12:42 PM
You mean the plastic ones right? It’s in the grocery store waiting to bag my groceries in. I’m not carrying ten of those hippie totes around everywhere I go like some fool expecting to put a significant dent in disposable plastic use. I recycle mine anyway. Take a look at the much more significant packaging problem of everything from soup to nuts!! This is stupid. Leave us alone. I am boycotting every grocery store that promotes this naggery.
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» on 08.29.09 @ 12:50 PM
Doesn’t Helene Schneider have a City to run? Horton Marty, Das the whole lot of them. What about public safety and budget issues, instead of her constant progressive activism at our expense? Blue lines, 6 sister cities that we are sending the City “green team” to hound them into being “green”. Enough of this! I am so tired of the endless green agendas sponsored by these Clowns. If you want to be green we obviously don’t need City resources to do it with all the greenies in this town. Schneider should quit the City and go on a full time green patrol! While we go back to safe streets, a balanced budget and emergency reserves! You know where this is headed, a City ban on bags.
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» on 08.29.09 @ 03:29 PM
“this is a way that people can proactively do something they feel good about.”
It’s all about feeling good and guilt relief, it’s never about actually accomplishing anything significant. Plastic bags are but a grain of sand in the sea of disposable plastic products. But hey we feel better, the politicians get re-elected for making us feel good, and nobody looks at the REAL issues or real solutions.
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» on 08.29.09 @ 03:33 PM
“Lorraine Cruz Carpenter, an environmental specialist with the city” and what is her salary I wonder, while Police are getting cut?
How much did it cost us for “The city has been working on the campaign for several months”
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» on 08.29.09 @ 04:58 PM
This is exactly why Schneider should not be elected Mayor. Activists like her seek public office and power because she thinks the causes that SHE thinks are important are the causes that WE should think are important, and wants to use OTHER PEOPLE’s MONEY and resources to subsidize and promote them. I would prefer to keep my own resources so that I can support and promote the causes that *I* think are worthy and important using my OWN money. The role of government is public safety and infrastructure, not supporting causes, charities and agendas.
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» on 08.30.09 @ 11:42 AM
What a great program! The waste generated from tons of unnecessary plastic bags is disgusting. I have visited a few developing countries where trash sometimes has trouble making it to the dump. Hillsides can be found covered with plastic bags, wrappers, bottles, etc.
If I happen to forget my reusable bags and then forget to ask for paper, I can easily leave my Eastside neighborhood Scolari’s with 10-20+ plastic bags. They often put 1-2 items in each bag, double bag each gallon of milk where no bag is needed, or place bags around large bags of oranges or catfood.
In contrast, four of my large, tough reusable bags filled to near the top can transport a cart overflowing with groceries. Items that are easy to carry on their own do not need to be placed in bags (eg, gallon jugs, bread).
Let’s not stop with recycling only plastic bags!
This logic can be applied to any waste sent to the landfill, particularly that which takes longer to biodegrade or is more harmful to the environment (ie, plastics, styrofome, electronic/hazardous waste vs paper trash/green waste)
Use what you already have. We don’t need new everything!!! The idea to reduce/recyle/reuse is not just propaganda. I want the planet to be a decent place to leave to our kids and the generations that follow! How could anyone object to this???
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» on 08.30.09 @ 04:31 PM
The liberals want to tell you how to live—wake up morons…
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» on 08.30.09 @ 04:55 PM
“10 or 15 cloth bags would be awkward.”
—elizabeth
I thought the same thing at first. But with the one bag I have (got it at UCSB Bookstore) I can hold the equivalent of 8 or 9 plastic bags! Try it, you’ll be surprised.
Its true the larger problem is the packaging/delivery/manufacturring of the goods themselves. But why not tackle the simple problem of grocery bags first? Start simple, success breeds success. All the smart things our grandparents told us.
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» on 08.31.09 @ 08:28 AM
When I use my own (cloth) bags at Ralph’s grocery stores, I get a small discountper bag I bring. It’s not much, but it is a gentle nudge to remind me to use my sturdy bags. The thin plastic doesn’t hold much because they’re flimsy, so only a couple of items can be placed in them safely. I think there should be more consumer awareness and promotion of stores that will give such a discount. BTW - Gelson’s reuseable bags are gorgeous - and free!
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» on 08.31.09 @ 09:18 AM
Reading some of these comments really makes me wonder what the reaction would be by some people who disagree with a city-funded promotion of reusable bags if the city suddenly decided to charge for each plastic bag taken from the store. How much would you pay for those 20 plastic bags you “need” to carry your groceries? Is your freedom to waste really that dear to you?
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» on 08.31.09 @ 09:39 AM
“I have visited a few developing countries where trash sometimes has trouble making it to the dump. Hillsides can be found covered with plastic bags, wrappers, bottles, etc.”
OK two questions then. Do we have that problem in Santa Barbara? No, because we are civilized and not careless ignorant morons. So how does banning bags in Santa Barbara prevent the problem in developing countries? How about taking this program where the real problem is and leave us alone? We just want to feel better while the developing nations continue to propagate the problem. Don’t waste your time and ours. We are already environmentally aware, we reuse and recycle now shutup about it already unless you want to go to where the real problem lies and do something significant! I am really really tired of the enviro-nagging and it is just going to cause a backlash. Go nag a developing country.
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» on 08.31.09 @ 11:02 AM
I go into Cost Plus or the corner market to buy a bottle of wine, put small cloth bag on the counter, and they still try to put it in another bag. And I’m like, “that’s just a waste.” People don’t know. So this program is really great to bring awareness. Now if only we can help these people who are too selfish and thoughtless. It’s true that a cloth bag will hold a lot more than a plastic bag and it is far less likely to break. And they come in many sizes so you can bring a small one in your pocket for only a couple of items. What a waist it is to put two plastic bags around a bottle of bleach that has a handle and doesn’t need a bag!
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» on 08.31.09 @ 05:59 PM
EAST BEACH, Thank you for the tip. I appreciate the thought. However at 75 I am not as hearty as I was when I myself attended UCSB in the 60’s, and when I placed a melon, a large bottle of olive oil, three cheeses, and one ot two other items in the bag I was definitely overloaded!
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» on 08.31.09 @ 11:43 PM
I live near that same dog park. At night I sneak in and poop in it to piss off the dog owners. I don’t wipe, and usually just jump into the shower afterwards. No panties to pull up, I usually just hike up my skirt and squat. One time someone caught me and I pretended to be a dog. It didn’t work and I was really embarrassed.
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