Palisadians Say ‘Yes!’ to Reusable Bags Campaign

The Village Green was a flurry of activity on December 20 as volunteers distributed 1,300 reusable bags for Heal the Bay’s ‘A Day Without a ‘Disposable’ Bag.’ Shoppers and businesses in Pacific Palisades received free bags donated by onebagatatime, the City of L.A., the County of L.A., Elyse Walker, and Palisades Cares. The goal was to encourage everyone to use a reusable bag that day to help the environment. More than six million bags are used in Los Angeles yearly and only about five percent are recycled. Volunteers at the Village Green offered bags, fact sheets, and reprints of a recent L.A. Times op-ed piece by Heal the Bay’s Matthew King to people passing by. Volunteers included representatives of the Palisades Chamber of Commerce, the Optimist Club, Rotary Club, Palisades PRIDE, the local AARP chapter, the Village Green Committee, the Community Council, the Marquez Knolls Homeowners Association, and members of local Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops. Several people offered to pay for the bags and were delighted to learn that they were free. Other volunteers were sent to distribute bags to 37 local businesses, including some on Marquez Avenue and in the Highlands. Bags were available at several locations, including Ralphs, Von’s and Bank of America’s parking lot. The parking lot distribution was unplanned. When the attendant received a bag and heard what we were doing, he said he would offer a free bag to each customer. He passed out 75 bags. Joan Sather distributed them to all of the people in her Sotheby’s office, and several bank managers took bags to their staff. Caf’ Vida took 50 to use for take-out orders, instead of the usual plastic bags. A manager at CVS Pharmacy came and took a box. Village Books asked for a second delivery because the bags were so popular. Ralphs supported the day by giving a 10-cent credit to each customer who used reusable bags on this day, instead of the normal 5-cents credit. Pharmaca gave away a reusable bag to each customer who spent $50 or more. At the Getty Villa store, reusable bags were sold for $7.50 instead of the usual $15. Gelson’s continued to offer an entry into a $25 raffle for each user of a reusable bag. Starbucks donated coffee for volunteers and shoppers. What was the impact on a typical local business? Later in the day, my daughter went to Intemperantia.They told her they hadn’t used any plastic bags the entire day because people either used the reusable ones that had been given to the store, brought their own, or just carried out the candy. The employee said she wished we had a day like this every month. If you have a bag, please use it and ‘brag about your bag.’ Make every day a bag-free day for you and your family. Help save our earth!