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Community Corner

Leave The Plastic at Home and Go Green

San Diego County is encouraging the use of reusable bags–find out where you can get some for free in Santee!

People throughout San Diego can make the extra effort at reducing their carbon footprint and keeping their cities “green” on Thursday when the county gives up disposable bags for a day.

San Diego Regional “Day Without a Bag” is an event sponsored by places like the , the City of Encinitas, San Diego Coastkeeper the Surfrider Foundation and more. According to its website, the purpose of the event is to “educate and raise awareness of the need to keep communities, waterways and beaches clean via litter prevention and promote a ‘greener’ holiday season through reuse.”

On Dec. 15, the county is urged to ditch the plastic and paper bags and instead reach for reusable bags. Numerous locations throughout San Diego will be giving away reusable bags that you can use for all different types of shopping and come in handy for the holidays.  

Find out what's happening in Santeewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“This is a region-wide event to support a habit change that encourages a much wiser use of our resources by reminding shoppers to choose reusable shopping bags over disposables,” said Regional Coordinator Jacy Bolden according to a SD Coastkeeper press release. “Reuse is far better than recycling. It prevents waste and helps to aid in overall litter reduction.

According to San Diego Coastkeeper, people in the greater San Diego region use more than 1.7 billion plastic bags each year, which comes out to about 500 bags per person annually. And while paper bags are a nice alternative to plastic, “Day Without A Bag” is all about using reusable bags that won’t litter our streets or cause buildup in our landfills. 

Find out what's happening in Santeewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

To help their shoppers remember, several grocers such as Albertsons, Trader Joe’s and Vons are providing drawings for $25 gift certificates to those shoppers using a reusable bag in their stores. 

According to San Diego Coastkeeper, Bolden said that such promotions are effective, as they have previously caused as much as 40-60 percent decrease in disposable bag usage.

Grocers, retailers, waste haulers, jurisdictions and volunteers will be giving away several thousand reusable shopping bags and providing reward incentives at numerous locations throughout the county. Region-wide grocers and retailers participating on Thursday include: 

  • 99 Cent Only Stores
  • Jimbo’s…Naturally!
  • Ralphs
  • Trader Joe’s
  • Vons
  • Whole Foods

Here is a list of more Santee locations where you can pick up your own reusable bags and go a day without plastic! You can find out more information about the green day by visiting www.NoBagDaySD.org

Other Santee Locations (including the ones listed above that are linked)

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