Netroots Nation 2011: How to Cross Cultural Lines on Conservation Issues

The Green Miles arrived in Minneapolis today for Netroots Nation. Took the new Minneapolis light rail from the airport - clean, fast, cheap, and dropped me off two blocks from my hotel. Very happy to find that the downtown Minneapolis Westin participates in the Starwood Hotels Green Choice program.

At a panel on environmental justice, just heard a great example on how to reach across cultural lines on conservation issues. Refugio "Reg" Mata of Heal the Bay told the story of how his grandmother used to use a reusable bag when she took him to the market. It wasn't because she was some hippie treehugger, but because in Central America you have to bring a bag - small markets in Honduras don't hand out plastic bags like they're going out of style. Reg talked about how making that emotional connection to reusable bag use - remember how your grandma used them when you were growing up? - can be a much better motivator to action than facts & figures.

Definitely makes me want to learn more ways to broaden the appeal of conservation issues. Great way to start the conference!

Maryland's Montgomery County Passes Bag Fee

Following in the footsteps of DC's successful bag fee, the Montgomery County Council has passed a 5 cent fee on disposable bags. The fee applies to both paper and plastic bags at nearly all retail establishments.

The fee is a win-win:

• If consumers keep using disposable bags, the county will now have an additional $1 million to help fund cleanups of streams & rivers
• If consumers switch their habits to reusable bags, the county will have dramatically reduced its need to clean up streams & rivers

The Virginia General Assembly has not only refused to pass a disposable bag fee, it's refused to even let communities like Arlington impose their own. So we don't get the funding to clean up waterways and we don't give consumers a nudge to change their habits - a lose-lose.

Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) has also introduced a national bag fee with proceeds going to fund conservation programs, but House Republicans seem way too busy trying to protect Big Oil subsidies to act on a bag fee.

Learn more about why a bag fee makes economic & environmental sense at TrashFreeVirginia.org.

Nick Naylor's New Message: Plastic Bags Aren't So Bad!

What does it say about the plastic bag industry that they're now turning to the guy who inspired the oblivious-to-his-own-evil Nick Naylor in Thank You For Smoking?

Yes, that's who's left to defend plastic bags these days - the lobbying firm of Rick Berman, who's made millions off trying to convince you that cigarettes, chemicals, fast food & more are maybe not so bad for you.

The Arlington Sun Gazette ran a letter to the editor last week from one of Berman's minions basically claiming if you touch a reusable bag, you'll be dead before you even hit the ground. Real subtle, those corporate lobbyists are. (The Sun Gazette doesn't mention the letter writer is a paid shill for corporate interests, merely listing the misleadingly-innocuous title of the lobbying firm, because the Sun Gazette's stated editorial mission is making advertisers happy, not giving you the straight story.)

Of course, what they don't tell you is that plastic bags are made from oil, require additional toxic chemicals to produce, kill hundreds of thousands of marine animals every year & never biodegrade (check out all the gory details).

The simple truth is that breaking our bad habit of plastic bag use is good for everyone except the plastic bag industry. And really, if plastic bags are so great & indispensable, why did a measly 5 cent fee slash DC plastic bag use 80%?

Tell your Virginia General Assembly member you want a trash-free Virginia.

Big Govt. in Richmond Keeping Arlington Dirtier Than It Should Be

Anyone who's taken part in a stream or park cleanup with Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment knows what a pervasive problem plastic bags are. They get tangled up in the branches of bushes & trees or among the rocks & sticks in a stream bed and can stay there for months or years until someone comes to remove them, one by one. If the bag washes out to the Potomac River, it ends up in the open ocean, degrading into smaller & smaller pieces of plastic that work their way into the food chain.

A small incentive to use reusable bags could go a long way towards keeping Arlington cleaner AND bring in some much-needed revenue. So what's the holdup? Under Virginia's antiquated Dillon Rule system, Arlington has to ask Virginia's General Assembly for permission first:

County Board members will again next year ask the General Assembly for permission to either ban single-use plastic bags at retail outlets, like supermarkets and convenience stores, or to be given the authority to tax them.

You'd think Democrats & Republicans would be able to come together on giving communities a greater degree of home rule -- what does a Republican from Botetourt County care if Arlington wants to get rid of plastic bags?

But this is less an issue of politics than it is of power. General Assembly members like being able to tell communities what they can & can't do. After all, why would they want to give up their ability to pass along unfunded mandates to communities? They can take credit for making something happen without having to take the blame of raising taxes to pay for it. Sounds like a win-win! For 140 politicians in Richmond, anyway.

CVS Launches New Reusable Bag Incentive

As DC prepares to implement its 5 cent disposable bag fee, CVS is offering an incentive that stretches across the Potomac:

CVS is also distributing “Green Bag Tag” cards that offer discounts to reusable bag customers. Gordon Howard, CVS area vice president, said in the city’s release that the company has “a long history of rewarding our customers with incentives that are both convenient and beneficial to their well-being. The District of Columbia’s initiative to clean up the Anacostia ties in with our ongoing green efforts, such as the Green Bag Tag program.”

Seems like a vastly better incentive than the usual 5 cents off. My friend Virginia Robinson reports, "My local CVS (Clarendon) tells me that there has been so much demand for them that they can't keep them in stock."

Photo via IHeartCVS.com

The Lazy Man's Case for a Plastic Bag Ban

Over at Deadspin, Drew Magary has a post up titled The Bizarre World Of American Grocery Bagging. Basically, he admits he won't use reusable bags unless forced to, but that once it happens, he won't really care because he's fully aware of how lazy he is.

I won't edit out the curse words because A) I don't think many small children are reading my thoughts about nuclear power and B) it's silly to edit out the curse words when we all know what they are anyway:

Every time I hit the store, my wife reminds me to bring cloth bags with me. These are the bags you buy for a buck each and reuse so you don't have to use plastic bags and kill all the penguins in Antarctica, or something like that. I never remember to bring these things, and subconsciously, it's because I don't really want to. I know plastic bags will kill the world for future generations. But I don't REALLY give a shit. Fuck ‘em. I won't be around. Sink or swim, children.

If they really don't want you to use plastic bags in the grocery store, they should get rid of them. Or they should charge you for them, like Bloomberg wanted to do in New York. Fucking fascist.

I'm the kind of person who never changes unless forced to.

Magary closes with, "And that's why this planet is utterly fucking doomed."

What do you say, Virginia General Assembly? Will you ban plastic bags to save Drew's children from their lazy dad?

UPDATE 8/7: The Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot editorializes for a ban today from the non-lazy person's perspective.

Real Men of Genius: Mr. Expert Grocery Bag Packer

We salute you, Harris Teeter grocery store clerk. On Saturday, I passed over my single reusable bag and said, "If you need a second bag, paper please."

He looked back at me with a glint in his eye that said, "Oh, no. We won't be needing a second bag."

He packed the reusable bag perfectly, condensing an entire basket (including a half gallon of milk and three quarts of ice cream) into one bag. Sure, it weighed about 80 pounds and I could barely carry it home, but there was a paper bag to be saved! Job well done, Mr. Expert Grocery Bag Packer.

Mason Nation Goes Green(er?)

Here's a cool little promotion for the George Mason University men's basketball team. To make your night even greener, use Metro's trip planner to take public transportation to the game, just enter Patriot Center for your destination.

"Go Green" night sponsored by AAA Mid-Atlantic.
First 1,000 fans will receive a FREE Re-usable grocery bag with a Mason logo
Buy tickets here

The Green Mom Outdoes The Green Miles

The Green Miles gave up wrapping paper this Christmas. Instead, I used gift bags or re-used gift bags I'd saved from last year.

It saved time on wrapping and money on paper, but was also more environmentally-friendly. Considering how much dye, laminate, glitter, etc. go into its production, wrapping paper is often times not recyclable. And even if it is, how many recipients will actually recycle it?

But The Green Mom one-upped me this year. She gave me my Christmas presents in a reusable bag from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Excellent idea!

Great Little Idea: The ChicoBag

In my gift bag for buying VIP tickets to the Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment Hallowgreen 30th anniversary event, I found this little guy. It's called a ChicoBag (named after the city in California) and it's changed my standards for reusable bags.

Most of my reusable bags (like the canvas ACE bag seen next to the ChicoBag) are sturdy but bulky. Since I walk to the grocery store, I have to cram my bags into my pockets, which only works well if I'm wearing cargo shorts or baggy jeans. And forget about keeping one with me in case of unexpected bag needs.

But the ChicoBag is not only small enough to fit into any pocket, it's light enough that you don't even notice it. And it expands to hold just as many groceries as the sturdier ACE bag.

The containing pouch is sewn right into the side of the bag, so once you've unloaded your groceries, you can fold the bag right back inside. Oh, and they're only $5.

I suppose my only concern is whether the light bag will survive dozens of trips to Harris Teeter. I'll let you know how it holds up!

BYOBag

From Bill Maher's Earth Day entry at HuffingtonPost.com:

[S]upermarket clerks must stop putting the big bottle of detergent with a handle on it in a plastic bag. I don't mean to tell you how to do your job, but you see that handle you just lifted the detergent with? I can use that same handle to carry the detergent to my car. And stop putting my liquor in a smaller paper sack before you put it in the big paper sack with my other stuff. What, are you afraid my groceries will think less of me if they see I've been drinking? Trust me, the broccoli doesn't care, and the condoms already know.

And it's with that completely inappropriate introduction that I give you the brand new Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment reusable bag!

To celebrate, ACE is having a kickoff party:

BYOBag Kickoff Ceremony
Sunday, May 18, 1 to 4 p.m.
Market Commons, 2800 Clarendon Blvd., Arlington

• Join us we kickoff our campaign to promote the use of reusable bags and the many problems with plastics in our environment. This (rescheduled) event will be part of the Market Commons Spring Fling. The student winners of our BYOBag poster contest will also be recognized.
  
• We'll have free ACE Living Green BYOBags for the first 50 visitors. The spring fling will also include music and kids' activities.
• We need volunteers for our table. Contact us at volunteer@arlingtonenvironment.org or 703-228-6427.

To learn more about why reusable bags are so much better for the environment than either paper or plastic bags, check out this post from The Green Miles archive.

Reusables: The Big Lie

Nobody loves reusables more than The Green Miles. Toting my reusable coffee mug all over the country. Bringing my reusable grocery bag to Harris Teeter.

But from businesses to environmentalists, there's a Big Lie that people seem to be buying into. The Big Lie is that giving a discount of five or ten cents on your grocery bill or on a cup of coffee will get people to use reusables.

Allow me to detail exactly how many people will change their behavior based on a five or ten cent discount: No one.

Let me repeat that in big bold letters: No one.

Let's take Starbucks as an example. Buy a stainless steel desktop mug for $18.95, and with their 10 cent discount for bringing your own mug, you'll recoup your investment in just 190 cups of coffee! Talk about a lousy return on investment. And that's assuming you don't lose track of the mug by then.

Of course people will use reusables for other reasons, and that discount does help reinforce that behavior. But most people won't bend over to pick up a dime on the street, never mind change their routine because of one.

Why does The Big Lie live on? Because no one wants to discourage stores from doing what they can to promote reusables, so environmentalists feel like they have to take what they can get.

There's only one way to really incentivize reusables, and that's by ending the practice of giving away disposable containers. If you charged 25 cents per bag or per cup, you'd see behaviors change in a hurry. That 25 cents could then go to litter cleanup or recycling efforts. Right now, if someone doesn't properly dispose of their disposable, you pay for its cleanup through your tax dollars.

What's stopping that? No one wants to be the first, or worse yet, the only. Just take a look at British supermarket chain Sainsbury's, which tried to charge for bags:

We did a 'pay-for' trial some years ago where we did charge the cost price for carrier bags to our customers, but our customers where not happy and complained. From these trials we decided to stop charging our customers for carrier bags and fall in line with other retailers.

But a recent JD Power study reported reusables present a strong branding opportunity:

Nearly 45 percent of upscale store customers and 30 percent of midscale customers say that they would like their department store to offer a designer shopping bag that is reusable, which presents an opportunity for stores to provide an environmentally friendly offering. Shoppers 40 years and younger tend to be more interested in reusable shopping bags, compared with their older counterparts.

The bottom line? There are plenty of ways to promote reusables -- environmental education efforts, giveaways of reusables, and financial incentives with teeth. But as Yogi Berra once said, a nickel ain't worth a dime anymore.

Paper or Plastic: Which is the Green Answer?

Neither. The Washington Post has a great graphic today comparing paper and plastic grocery bags, coming to the conclusion that neither is a decisively better choice for the environment. Instead, you should choose reusable grocery bags. Environment.About.com recently came to the same conclusion. It makes you wonder, considering how we're nickel and dimed for everything else these days, why are paper and plastic bags still handed out for free?
The Green Miles recently wrote about how he's fighting through the frustrations of the transition to reusables.

Why Resuables Make The Green Miles Feel Like Johnny Appleseed

Confusion reigned from the moment I handed my reusable grocery bag to the bagger at my local Harris Teeter recently. First she tried handing it to the customer who’d just checked out, thinking it was something they’d dropped. Then she just set it aside, clearly having no idea what it was, and started putting my groceries into standard plastic bags. Finally, the cashier turned to her and explained how the reusable bag worked.

Incidents like that make me feel like the Johnny Appleseed of reusables, spreading the word about reusables whereever I go. And sure, that's cool, but on the other hand, it would be nice to sport reusables without having it be a major production.

Granted, I’ve used my reusable bag many times at Harris Teeter with no problems, and it was obviously a new bagger, but the situation illustrates one of the sticking points as reusable items are introduced. Service employees have to be trained to use the new items, even if that training is only a quick explanation from the senior cashier. That training may come from the employer or the customer, but until employees more universally recognize reusables, it can make the process a pain in the neck for the customer.

Another example came just yesterday as I flew back from San Francisco on United Airlines. The Green Miles travels with his handy ACE/Daily Grind reusable coffee mug because:

- Conservationally, it saves me from having to use somewhere around five paper coffee cups and plastic water bottles per trip
- Conveniently, I don’t have to worry about tracking down a recycling bin for any plastic water bottles I would’ve used
- Socially, at events like the Society of Environmental Journalists conference it Nuke LaLoosh-style announces my presence with authority as a green mack daddy

I got it filled with coffee at a shop in the airport, then on the plane, asked the flight attendant to fill it with soda. It had worked fine on the flight out, but just like the grocery bagger, this flight attendant was definitely unclear on the concept. She saw my mug and said, “Oh here, I’ll give you the cup of ice and the can of soda and you can fill it yourself.” She thought she was being helpful. Not so much.

At that point, any hope of conserving a plastic cup had been lost, so I dumped the ice into my mug and gave the cup back to her, which she threw out. So instead of the usual two containers (plastic cup and soda can), we used three (cup, can, mug). This is progress? At least I was able to recycle the can in the terminal thanks to Dulles’ new recycling bins.

If a product is a pain to use, people will stop using it. (I know, I missed my true calling in marketing, didn’t I?) It’s something we well-meaning conservationists need to keep in mind as we push reusables like grocery bags, coffee mugs, and water bottles. The early adopters should be prepared for minor hassles like the ones described above. But really, they’re minor inconveniences when you know you’re breaking the resource-container-landfill cycle, don’t you think?