Earth Day, which promotes protecting the planet and its resources, celebrates its 40th anniversary on Thursday, April 22. It appears much still needs to be done.
In Hailey, the Just Bag It project has honed in on the over-consumption of plastic bags and has created a plan to help the Wood River Valley cut back on plastic bag use. The city of Hailey received a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the project and will institute a bag-free day for Earth Day on April 22 with other partners and participating stores.
Preparing for the upcoming bag-free day, a kickoff party took place at the Hailey Public Library on Thursday, April 8. Students were awarded for creating videos and bags to help promote the program and raise awareness of the environmental issues surrounding plastic bags.
According to the Just Bag It project, people in the United States consume 100 billion carryout bags per year, whose production uses some 12 million barrels of oil. Only 1 to 5 percent of plastic bags is recycled and an estimated 99 billion end up in landfills or as litter. Plastic bags do not biodegrade but photo-degrade into small particles of plastic over time. Plastic bags kill animals on land and in U.S. waterways each year, as animals sometimes mistake the bags for food and ingest them.
Using reusable bags can save an average of six bags each week, which is 24 bags a month, 288 bags saved a year and 22,176 bags saved over the average lifetime, the Just Bag It program estimates.
"We want to reduce the amount of bags used every year," said project manager Elizabeth Jeffrey. "This is a yearlong program with 10 different events happening throughout the year."
Jeffery said one of the complaints people have with using reusable bags is they can't remember to use them. Signs and having bags at the front door of businesses will help consumers to remember, she said.
"We are hoping for a big reduction on Earth Day," Jeffrey said. "We hope to continue to do it and people see this as a positive thing and enjoy it."
The grant money received for the project mostly went to buying 4,000 complimentary reusable bags that will be available free to the first 4,000 customers at the participating stores in Hailey and Ketchum, which include Atkinsons' food markets, Albertsons supermarket and King's department store. Partnering on the project are the Environmental Resource Center, Hailey Chamber of Commerce and Wood River Farmers Market.
Earth Day participants will also include The Loft, Zaney's, Webb, The Creative Edge, Blaine County Fitness, Curves, Big Wood Nutrition, Sprint AT&T Mobile, Vintage Gypsy, Paula's Dress Shop, U.S. Bank, Golden Elk and Balmoral Apartments. However, Jeffrey asked that people bring their own reusable bags if they have them.
Consumers can bring surplus, non-plastic bags to be distributed by participants on bag-free day. Bags can be dropped in a box inside the Main Street entrance to Hailey City Hall. In addition, all clean plastic bags can be recycled at King's, Atkinsons' and Albertsons in Hailey. Atkinsons' in Ketchum will also participate in recycling.
Sabina Dana Plasse: splasse@mtexpress.com
Earth Day events on Thursday, April 22
· Citizens for Smart Growth will screen the documentary film "Tapped" at the Liberty Theatre in Hailey at 6 p.m. Donations will be accepted. For details, call 788-8813.
· Idaho's Bounty will screen the documentary film "Fresh" at the Wood River Community YMCA in Ketchum at 6 p.m. The film is $5. In addition, area nonprofit groups will offer free and fun activities at the YMCA for kids over 8 years old from 5-7:30 p.m. For details, call 721-1412.
Just Bag It contest winner and Woodside Elementary third-grader Ciarra Love, left, shows off her design with contest project manager Elizabeth Jeffrey. Love’s reusable bag will be a poster for Earth Day and will continue to be used as a reminder all year long for people to use reusable bags. Photo by David N. Seelig
