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ReusableBags.com Supports Proposed Seattle Bag Fee and Offers Plastic Bag Alternatives
08.17.2009 – (Chicago, IL)- Last year, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels proposed a 20cent-per-bag fee on plastic and paper grocery bags that was later passed by the Seattle City Council. Tuesday, August 18th, Referendum 1, the Seattle Bag Fee, will go up for public vote. Twitter Pitch
ReusableBags.com supports the Seattle Bag Fee, up for public vote on August 18th.
ReusableBags.com, the leading online source for reusable products and information on the problems relating to use-and-toss items, strongly supports the fee. Earlier this year, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels called the company for help in raising money and awareness for the issue, and the company jumped on board, donating $5,000 to the Seattle Green Bag Campaign.
News Facts
Introduced just over 25 years ago, our plastic bag addiction is now estimated at well over 500,000,000,000 (that's 500 billion) plastic bags annually, or almost 1 million per minute.
“In the six years this company has been around, Seattle's proposed bag fee is the most important piece of legislation we've seen to help reduce the consumption of "use-and-toss" bags,” stated ReusableBags.com founder Vincent Cobb.
Single-use bags made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) accumulate and last for 1,000 years In 2001, Ireland used 1.2 billion disposable plastic bags, or 316 per
Based on Ireland’s PlasTax, which reduced plastic bag consumption by more than 90%, this piece of legislation is a first of its kind in the U.S. Although San Francisco banned plastic bags in 2007 and many cities across the nation are considering the ban, Cobb says there is a difference in the measured success of a ban versus a consumption-based fee.
person. An extremely successful plastic bag tax, or PlasTax, introduced in 2002 reduced consumption by 90% Four out of five grocery bags in the US are now plastic. According to The Wall Street Journal,
“Consumption-based fees are progressive, market-based solutions that help capture the true costs of paper and plastic bags,” said Cobb. “Bag bans are an emotional response to an economic problem, indiscriminately targeting plastic bags, and they are just not a practical, long term solution.”
the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually. An estimated 12 million barrels of oil is required to make that many plastic bags.
Resource Links If Referendum 1 passes, the majority of fee revenue will go toward waste prevention, recycling programs and environmental education programs, as well as subsidizing the cost of reusable bags for lower income shoppers.
The purpose of a bag fee is to change consumer behavior, not fatten city coffers. By charging enough for a plastic bag, consumers will stop and think at the checkout line.
ReusableBags.com acts as a hub on the issue, providing information, myth-busting and sound solutions, and was instrumental in bringing the plastic bag issue into the mainstream discussion. The site includes tips for consumers on how to go on a “consumption diet,” and the Bag Ticker on the homepage constantly reminds customers of the number of plastic bags consumed this year. ReusableBags.com offers a large selection of reusables, with over 700 products and a loyal customer base of over 200,000. As of 2009, these customers have been empowered to save an estimated 760 million use-and-toss items.
The trend to use reusable shopping bags has coincided with the overwhelming consumer demand in the last few years for alternatives to plastic water bottles. This is evident in the company’s rapid growth. “Sales have grown 300% each year since 2004,” said Vice President of Operations Brad Nihls.
Vincent Cobb is also the original creator of the compact reusable shopping bag, launching the ACME Workhorse model in 2002, which at 1.5oz is the lightest weight reusable shopping bag on the market, and remains one of the company’s best sellers.
According to Cobb, “Lightweight, strong and convenient, plastic bags are a brilliant product. However, the fatal flat lies in their short life cycle. We set out to improve on this with the ACME Workhorse, making it ultra-compact for portability and extremely durable, so it can be used thousands of times.
Recognized as a leader and innovator, ReusableBags won Co-Op America’s prestigious Green Business of the Year People’s Choice Award in 2007. ReusableBags is also an authentic triple bottom line company, supporting Fair Trade practices and donating 1% of all sales via 1% For The Planet. For more information on the Seattle Green Bag Campaign, go to www.ReusableBags.com
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6 About ReusableBags.com Launched in 2003, ReusableBags quickly established itself as the preeminent website dedicated to the promotion and use of reusable shopping bags as a pragmatic solution to over-consumption of single-use plastic shopping bags. It has grown to hundreds of reusables in over 30 new categories, promoting reusable water bottles, lunch items, home goods and more. ReusableBags has enabled 190,000+ customers to reduce their consumption of use-and-toss items by more than 700 million. Contacting ReusableBags.com ReusableBags.com 116 W Illinois St. Suite 6E Chicago, IL 60654 1-888-707-3873 Website: http://www.reusablebags.com Press Contact Sarah Hubbard- Backbone Media Office: 307-733-3065 Email: sarah@backbonemedia.net Twitter: http://twitter.com/Backbone_Media Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=25247287129&ref=ts Interview Request Sarah Hubbard- Backbone Media Office: 307-733-3065 Email: sarah@backbonemedia.net Product Sample Request Sarah Hubbard- Backbone Media Office: 307-733-3065 Email: sarah@backbonemedia.net
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