News ReleaseCity of Long Beach Public Information Office
333 W. Ocean Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90802

12/19/2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE #CM:121907
Subject :

Residents, Businesses Urged to Participate in “A Day Without A Bag” on December 20
Contact :Meredith Reynolds, Department of Planning and Building    570.6396
Residents and businesses are encouraged to participate in "A Day Without A Bag" on December 20, by utilizing reusable bags for holiday and regular shopping needs instead of the usual plastic and paper bags.

Realizing the environmental and financial toll of these bags, the City Council recently declared Thursday, December 20, as "A Day Without A Bag" in the City of Long Beach. 

"We hope that people participate in "A Day Without A Bag" and, as a result, become empowered shoppers who take direct action to eliminate this source of blight and damage in their own community," City Manager Pat West said.

In Long Beach, people can get reusable bags at: 

  • City Hall lobby, 333 E. Ocean Blvd., on Wednesday, December 19, and Thursday, December 20, while supplies last.
  • Ralphs Marina Pacifica, 6290 East Pacific Coast Highway, Thursday, December 20, 11:00 am to 1:00 pm
Each year, approximately 6 billion plastic carryout bags are used in Los Angeles County.  These disposable bags cost cities in the county up to 17 cents per bag for disposal.  At the state level, California spends approximately $25 million discarding plastic bags in landfills.  In the United States, less than 5 percent of plastic bags are recycled. With more than 380 billion bags being thrown away every year, Americans end up wasting millions of barrels of oil, which is used in the production of single-use bags. 

In addition, plastic bags create significant litter problems for our communities and damage our marine environment.  According to a study conducted by the U.S. Department of Commerce, more than 1 million birds, 100,000 marine animals and countless fish die each year through ingestion of and entanglement in marine debris, which include an increasing number of plastic bags.

Bringing greater attention to the impact of plastic single-use bags and educating the public about convenient and viable alternatives, such as reusable bags, is particularly important for a coastal city like Long Beach, due to the significant amount of litter that gets deposited on city beaches and hung up in city harbors and marinas from the Los Angeles River.     

On October 25, The City Council’s Environmental Committee held a public meeting on the matter, and the input from residents, environmental experts and city officials is being used to create policy recommendations when the Long Beach City Council evaluates possible polystyrene and plastic bag usage restrictions.  The recommendations included promoting the use of reusable bags, monitoring plastic bag recycling programs and considering a ban of plastic bags following a one-year period. 

For more information, call 570.6396.

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