A Day Without a Bag 2011

• Past Giveaway Locations
  Google Map of bag giveaways and promotions in L.A. County.
• Past Store PromotionsRetail partners supporting A Day Without a Bag through generous in-store offers.
• Youth Training SummitFree, half-day tutorial teaching students how to get their own community to break the addiction to plastic bags.

Our holiday gift to the environment

A Day Without a Bag is an education and grassroots event coordinated by Heal the Bay that involves community groups, businesses and individuals throughout the state of California.

Held the third Thursday in December, Heal the Bay’s annual A Day Without a Bag gives Southland shoppers an early holiday present, courtesy of a reusable bag giveaway at locations throughout Los Angeles County.

On this day we ask holiday shoppers and retailers to forgo single-use, plastic shopping bags in favor of reusable bags. It’s our hope that this one day of action will encourage people to go plastic bag-free throughout the year.

Over 4 million residents in California now live in communities that have banned plastic bags and an additional 5 million live in cities actively working on bag ban ordinances. When these ordinances pass, nearly 1 in 3 Californians will have embraced reusable bags.

Education and Awareness

A unique coalition of major retailers, local governments and regional environmental groups forms annually to organize A Day Without a Bag, urging consumers to forego environmentally harmful single-use plastic or paper grocery bags in favor of reusable totes. By raising consumer awareness about personal choices, the event’s short-term goal is to educate Southland shoppers to adopt more sustainable practices during the holidays and coming year.

Learn

• Plastic BagsLearn about the environmental issues with single-use plastic bags.

The event’s long-term goal is to reduce the use of single-use plastic bags throughout California by empowering shoppers, and the community at large, to take simple and direct actions to eliminate unsightly debris and save taxpayer dollars.

Dozens of community groups, from soccer clubs in Highland Park to Girl Scout troops in Agoura Hills, conduct bag giveaways and grassroots education for consumers throughout the region. The event, organized by Heal the Bay, is sponsored by the city and county of Los Angeles.

Each year Heal the Bay partners distribute free reusable bags to patrons throughout the region. A diverse mix of retailers including Ralphs and Union Bank also support the event through in-store promotions or giveaways at stores countywide.

Spurred by the success of previous Heal the Bay events, community groups throughout the state launched their own A Day Without a Bag campaigns.

Next Steps

• On December 16, the Los Angeles City Council’s Energy and Environment (E+E) committee approved an action asking for a Chief Administrative Officer-Chief Legislative Analyst report on a single-use bag ban ordinance within 30 days. 
• Councilmember Paul Koretz amended Councilmember Jan Perry’s E+E committee motion by including a March 31 deadline for final ordinance approval. 
• In addition, the motion directs the Bureau of Sanitation to launch a public outreach campaign over the next to days and  implement an environmental review in parallel, start immediately.

California municipalities spend nearly $25 million each year just to collect and dispose of plastic bag waste. Less than 5% of plastic grocery bags are recycled annually in Los Angeles, so the remainder clog precious landfill, litter public spaces and harm animal life when the bags infiltrate waterways. Paper bags, while biodegradable, still require vast amounts of fossil fuels and water to produce, distribute and collect for disposal.

Heavy-duty reusable bags are convenient, environmentally-friendly alternatives that have been embraced by millions around the world. Ireland has been able to reduce its use of disposable grocery bags by 90% since 2001 via public programs.  We can do the same, starting with A Day Without a Bag.