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Hickenlooper, Denver Public Library, Local Grocers Announce Efforts to Promote Use of Reusable Bags
Voluntary programs to help City meet Greenprint Denver waste reduction goals
DENVER–Mayor John Hickenlooper and Greenprint Denver officials today joined with City Councilman Doug Linkhart, City Librarian Shirley Amore and local grocers to announce two new community efforts to help residents protect the environment by reducing the use of plastic bags.
Effective today, the Denver Public Library has eliminated the use of plastic bags at all branches. In addition, four local grocery outlets – King Soopers, Safeway, Vitamin Cottage and Wal-Mart are implementing innovative measures that will reduce the use of disposable bags in their stores.
“We applaud Denver Public Library and our area grocers for voluntarily stepping up to the plate to help us meet our Greenprint waste reduction goals,” Hickenlooper said. “This is a great example of the public sector and the private sector partnering together to achieve a common goal.”
In lieu of plastic bags, Denver Public Library patrons will find reusable bags available throughout the library system for the low cost of $1. “Denver Public Library takes its commitment to the environment seriously,” Amore said. “Our staff and management are fully dedicated to supporting the City’s greening efforts.”
The grocers – who accepted a five-point challenge from Mayor Hickenlooper, have agreed to:
• have cashiers promote reusable bags as customers check out
• train checkers to make it as easy as possible for customers to use reusable bags, or avoid a bag altogether
• prominently advertise reusable bag rebates
• provide convenient recycling collection stations for plastic bags that are used
• work with Greenprint Denver to document annual progress
Michele Weingarden, director of Greenprint Denver, noted that the effort to reduce disposable bags supports the City’s goal of reducing landfilled waste by 30% by 2012. “With the collaboration of all of these partners, we will make great strides toward that goal,” she added.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, over 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps are consumed in the United States each year. According to studies done by Better Bags Colorado, over 50 million plastic bags are disposed of in Denver each year.
If each Denver resident reduced their annual use of plastic bags even by half, Weingarden said,
“collectively we can save the amount of petroleum required to drive a car around the earth’s equator more than 175 times. As we enter the holiday season, this is a great time of year to start using reusable bags and reducing waste. We thank our libraries and grocery stores for leading the way for residents to make this a permanent change.” |
