Skip to content (press enter)
Donate

01.09.14

Surfrider Activists Urge Residents to Participate in a Day Without a Bag

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE 1/9/14

Contact: Jason Rubin, Rise Above Plastics Co-Chair
Surfrider Foundation San Diego County Chapter
Website: www.surfridersd.org
E-Mail: jason@surfridersd.org
Phone: (949) 235-7419

Surfrider Activists Urge Residents to Participate in a Day Without a Bag

San Diego, CA – Surfrider Foundation activists are urging City of San Diego residents to participate in the organization’s Day Without a Bag on Tuesday, January 14th by using reusable bags instead of plastic checkout bags.  Volunteers will be at Pancho Villa's Farmers Market, 3245 El Cajon Blvd, and Northgate Market Barrio Logan, 1950 Main St, from 4-8pm distributing over 1,000 free reusable bags to the local community.

Surfrider's Day Without a Bag is a grassroots educational outreach event in the City of San Diego designed to raise awareness and educate consumers about the impact that plastics have on our environment, health, and economy.  Participate by remembering your reusable bags and if you happen to have a few extra ones, give them away to a friend or stranger to show your commitment to protecting our oceans, waves and beaches.

"The goal of our Rise Above Plastics program is to inform the public about the harms of plastics in our marine environment, while promoting the habit of bringing reusable bags to the grocery store to help reduce the impact of single-use plastics.  We also strongly support an ordinance on plastic checkout bags and want to help prepare the public for this change by giving away free reusable bags," states Jason Rubin, Rise Above Plastics Co-Chair.

Each year, City of San Diego residents use approximately 500 million plastic checkout bags and less than five percent are recycled.  Plastic checkout bags are made from non-renewable resources and have significant disposal and cleanup costs.  Furthermore, plastics do not biodegrade, instead they break down into small pieces which are easily transported, litter our environment, and often mistaken for food by wildlife.

The impact of plastics on our marine environment and our community is significant and we have the option to dramatically reduce the use of plastic bags—why not make every day, a Day Without a Bag?

To learn more about the Surfrider Foundation’s Rise Above Plastics program, or to volunteer for a Day Without a Bag, visit www.surfridersd.org or contact Jason Rubin at jason@surfridersd.org or (949) 235-7419.

###