Plastic Bag Reduction Challenge
The Town of Vail is inviting residents and guests to participate in a friendly plastic bag reduction challenge to determine which of the more than 25 ski towns from Colorado to Idaho can produce the most uses of reusable bags on a per capita basis.
The BYOB (bring your own bag) Challenge begins March 1 and continues to Sept. 1. It’s being coordinated by the Colorado Association of Ski Towns (CAST) and includes participation by Vail, Aspen, Snowmass, Telluride, Mountain Village, Steamboat Springs, Breckenridge, Winter Park, Crested Butte, Park City, Jackson Hole and Sun Valley. In addition, the towns of Avon, Eagle, Gypsum, Basalt, Silverthorne, Dillon, Frisco, Fraser, Estes Park, Grand Lake, Granby, Mt. Crested Butte, and the Idaho communities of Hailey and Ketchum, have also agreed to participate.
Kristen Bertuglia, environmental sustainability coordinator for the Town of Vail, is serving as the local contact for Vail’s awareness campaign. She’s been making arrangements with representatives from City Market, Safeway, Ace Hardware and Sports Authority to help launch the program. The West Vail businesses have agreed to monitor the number of times a reusable shopping bag is used as an alternative to single-use, disposable plastic bags. In some cases, customers will receive a 5-cent discount off their bill for using their own bag.
Bertuglia says the participating businesses are eager to help their customers make the conversion to reusable bags and she’s hoping additional businesses will join the campaign. “By reducing the use of plastic bags in the community, we’re helping the businesses become more sustainable, reduce cost and waste, and we’re certainly helping the environment,” she said. At a consumption rate of 100 billion per year, the U.S. uses 12 million barrels of oil annually to sustain its plastic bag habit, translating to over half a billion dollars per year, according to the Community Office for Resource Efficiency (CORE) in Aspen. For every 100 plastic bags manufactured, nearly seven pounds of carbon dioxide, the major contributor to global warming, is released into the atmosphere. Plastic bags also contribute to over 600,000 tons of landfill waste and are responsible for 1.1 million wildlife deaths each year, according to CORE.
The community that uses the most reusable bags on a per capita basis during the six-month competition will be declared the winner by CAST. The winning community will receive a $5,000 grant from Alpine Bank to be used to install a solar panel system at a public school. Bertuglia says the competition is a great way to inspire the community into thinking about how we use our resources. “What a great way to promote very simple every day practices to a more sustainable lifestyle,” she said.
The Vail Recreation District has joined the local campaign and will assist in education and outreach with local students. In addition FirstBank of Vail is helping to fund 1,000 reusable bags that will distributed throughout the competition. Bertuglia is also encouraging Vail’s lodges to provide reusable bags for their guests. “What a statement it will make when our guests are reminded that the Town of Vail values the environment and that they can help us reduce waste, water and energy even when they are on vacation,” she said.
Bertuglia will be tallying Vail’s scores on a monthly basis and will provide ongoing community updates. Comparison reports will be issued halfway through the competition by CAST to keep the challenge competitive to the end.
The BYOB Challenge is being initiated following the success of a challenge between Telluride and Aspen in 2008. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the two towns eliminated the use of an estimated 140,359 single-use shopping bags.
The benefits of reusable bags are numerous, according to Bertuglia. “For example, each time you use a reusable bag, you replace three plastic bags. In addition to the energy, water and waste savings, you also prevent the use of chemicals that are often carcinogenic and end up as pollutants in our air, water and soil. Plus, the more you use those reusable bags, you inspire others to think green….don’t forget to bring them with you!”
Posters, plus newspaper, television and radio announcements will be used to spread the word about the program. Shoppers will be able to identify participating grocers and retailers by the presence of the 2009 CAST Reusable Bag Challenge poster, which will be posted at the entrance.
For more information on how you or your business can actively participate, contact Bertuglia at 477-3455.
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