Household recycling in Boise (pop. 205,671) is available for those whole sign up for a blue cart with the city’s Public Works department. The blue carts, which are placed curbside on pick-up days, are no sort (single-stream) bins. To further incentivize Boiseans, residents who choose not to recycle pay $4 more per month for garbage services.

Materials recycled

Paper
Including newspaper, shredded paper (must be put in a closed paper sack), magazines, catalogs, junk mail, white or pastel paper, food and beverage boxes, paper bags, envelopes, brochures, greeting cards, wrapping paper (none containing foil), construction paper and phonebooks. Corrugated cardboard can be flattened or cut to fit inside recycling bin.

Plastics
Plastic containers #1 through #7 (no larger than 3 gallons; smash or flatten; lids and labels may remain). Absolutely no Styrofoam.

Metals
Aluminum and steel cans (rinsed, no lids), pie pans, aluminum foil, uncoated metal hangers, empty aerosol cans

Other items
Used motor oil may be placed next to the bin (up to 2 gallons per week in a transparent, labeled plastic container).

Frequency

Curbside pick-up occurs every other week, coinciding with regular trash pick-up. To help residents remember pick-up days, color-coded decals are located inside the recycling cart lid. A collection calendar is located online. Carts must be placed curbside by 7 a.m. collection day and must return to property within 24 hours.

Other programs

Boise’s downtown district benefits from the Downtown Recycling Program. At strategic spots scattered throughout the downtown, recycling centers collecting newspapers, aluminum cans and plastic bottles in separate receptacles can be found. Locations include City Hall, Capitol Park, CW Moore Park, Starbucks, Boise Public Library and more.

A glass collection program has been set up with a partnership between Boise City, Allied Waste and ACHD. Residents can drop off glass bottles and containers (cleaned, without lids or caps) to a number of locations throughout the city.

Curbside leaf collection occurs throughout November each year. Curbside Christmas tree pick-up takes place the second week in January.

Though phonebooks can be put in the blue carts as mixed paper, they can also be dropped off year round at area recycling centers.

Household hazardous waste collection events take place regularly at city-operated collection sites. For a calendar of events, see here.

More information

Visit the City of Boise Public Works website for more recycling program info.

If you’re a fan of recycled art, enjoy helping a worthy cause and will be in the Fargo, ND, area on Saturday, February 4, check out this year’s “Home is Where the Art Is” recycled art show and silent auction. The Lake Agassiz Habitat for Humanity (LAHFH) ReStore will hold its second annual recycled art event at the Spirit Room Gallery in downtown Fargo.

What art offers is space — a certain breathing room for the spirit.

— John Updike

The LAHFH ReStore contacted area artists and asked them to use their talents to create a piece of art utilizing home improvement materials from the Habitat ReStore. The artists were given a voucher worth $50 to be used at the ReStore. The challenge was to find and purchase materials then turn the reclaimed materials into works of art. This year’s recycled artwork has been displayed at the Spirit Room since January 16.

The mission of LAHFH is to partner with volunteers from the community to build simple, decent and affordable housing for low-income families in Cass (ND) and Clay (MN) counties. To that end, the recycled art will be auctioned off at the event in support of LAHFH’s efforts.

When

Saturday, February 4, 2012, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. (auction ends at 8:30 p.m.)

Where

The Spirit Room, 111 N. Broadway Dr., Fargo

What

The event includes a silent auction of the recycled art pieces as well as items from area businesses, a wine tasting from Bernie’s Wines & Liquors and appetizers from local restaurants. Tickets can be purchased for $15 in advance at the ReStore (210 N. 11th St. in nearby Moorhead, MN) , the Spirit Room and FargoStuff.com. Door price for tickets is $20. You must be 21 or older to attend this event.

Check out the beautiful recycled pieces from last year’s event on Flickr. For additional information on this event and other news about LAHFH, visit lakeagassizhabitat.org.

Background

Sin City is looking to add another sin to its ever-expanding list: sending trash to the landfill. One may not think of Las Vegas (pop. 583,756) as a city with conservation on its agenda. Quite the contrary, in fact: Vegas is known as a city of excess; a place where gluttony reigns supreme. But Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, is trying to change that reputation. In 2010, the county recycling rate sat at 17.9%. But recycling rates are up statewide (Clark County’s 2009 rate was 17.4%), and 2011 numbers (when available) will indicate that increase.

Currently, single-family homes in Clark County can sign up for curbside recycling through Republic Services. Apartments, condos and other multifamily dwellings around the county may offer service through another provider, or tenants may need to utilize the county’s extensive drop-off location database, provided by the Southern Nevada Health District.

Materials recycled

Republic Services’ recycling service in Clark County utilizes red, white and blue recycling bins. Select neighborhoods enjoy single-stream service using one large bin. To claim a bin for pick-up service, call 702.599.5522.

Red bins

• Aluminum cans
• Tin cans
• PET (#1) plastic containers and bottles
• HDPE (#2) plastic containers and bottles

According to the City of Sioux Falls Public Works, the mission of the Sustainability Program is to serve as a “guiding program that creates a more sustainable community now and in the future by proposing and assisting with the implementation of measurable solutions to environmental, social and economic concerns.”

The programs focus is broken into four categories:

• Reducing energy consumption while improving air quality
  • All city departments have efforts underway to help with energy efficiency, including the Sioux Area Metro Transit System. The water reclamation plant operates a Global Electric Motorcar to patrol the property and the city maintains an extensive bike trail system. The city is also addressing air quality issues through non-energy-related topics like radon and asbestos.
• Managing land use
  • Proper land use is a priority for the City of Sioux Falls. One of the planning office’s goals is to improve the sustainability of the community as the population continues to grow. The Parks and Recreation Department offers tips on sustainable lawn care and composting, along with numerous other resources.
• Increasing recycling rates
  • In Sioux Falls, it is mandatory for all businesses and residential units, including apartments, to recycle items such as plastics, metal containers, paper and cardboard.
• Conserving water
  • The City of Sioux Falls is committed to water conservation and the careful management of the Big Sioux River Basin. The City of Sioux Falls Water Reclamation Plant is rated to treat a maximum of 21 million gallons a day. The mission statement is to “Protect Public Health and the Environment by collecting and treating wastewater in a safe, reliable, ethical, cost-effective, and customer-friendly manner in accordance with all state and federal regulations.”

One of the things the Sustainability Program does each year is put out the City of Sioux Falls Residential Guide to Sustainability. This guide is an excellent resource that has information about everything from recycling and composting programs and household hazardous waste information, to community gardens and farmers markets. It’s a comprehensive guide for all things sustainable within Sioux Falls.

For example, in the section about recycling, the guide breaks down what can and cannot be recycled within the city program. In an effort to make Sioux Falls more sustainable, a city ordinance has banned certain materials from being disposed of as waste in the Sioux Falls Regional Sanitary Landfill. It also gives tips about how to reduce and reuse items.

Portland (pop. 66,194) is recognized as the economic and urban hub of Maine, but just as importantly, it is the state’s recycling leader as well. A recently implemented single-stream recycling program is touted as being “so easy even a bear can do it!” The program, still in its infancy, is counting on Mainers to recycle at a high rate by simply dropping all recyclables into the standard curbside bin.

The blue bins can be purchased for $7 each at the Department of Public Works or the Riverside Recycling Facility. The City of Portland collects all recyclables and brings them to ecomaine, where they are sorted and sold for reuse in different products.

Materials recycled

• Paper, including newspaper, magazines, mail, greeting cards, flyers, brochures, envelopes, manila folders, postcards, paper bags and more
• Paperboard, including clean food packaging with liners removed, paper towel tubes, writing pad backs and medicine and toiletry boxes
• Corrugated cardboard
• Glass, including glass bottles and jars (clear and colored); no Pyrex containers
• Aluminum and other metals, including aluminum cans, metal food and beverage containers, aluminum foil and aerosol cans (no lids)
• Plastics #1 through #7 (absolutely no Styrofoam products; no bags)

Frequency

Recyclables are picked up with trash on the regularly scheduled trash pick-up route. Trash pick-up occurs throughout Portland every weekday depending on location. The city offers a pick-up route listing, alphabetical by street name, here. Bins must be placed curbside no later than 6:30 a.m. day of pick-up.

Other programs

Maine hosts a household hazardous waste drop-off event at Riverside Recycling Facility on the first Saturday of each month, April through November, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. All Maine residents are welcome to drop in. The facility allows up to 10 pounds of HHW to be dropped off for free (a maximum of two visits per year). Otherwise, it is $6.50 per gallon of liquid waste and $3.50 per pound of solid waste. A great number of items are accepted, including pesticides, herbicides, household cleaners, solvents, pool chemicals, bug spray, oil- and enamel-based paints, glues and adhesives, paint thinners, motor oil, A/C refrigerants, antifreeze, driveway sealer, kerosene, diesel fuel and many more.

More information

Visit the City of Portland Public Services Department website for more recycling program info. For information on the HHW drop-off program, see here. The city has also established a recycling hotline to answer any recycling-related questions at 207.756.8189.

The capital of the Sooner State, Oklahoma City (pop. 579,999) is also the state’s largest city and the hub of its largest metro area, home to some 1.3 million people. OKC, as it is sometimes known, is also an Okie leader when it comes to recycling, acting as the state’s nexus for progressive waste management. Trash and recycling pick-up go hand in hand here, where “Little Blues,” or short blue recycling bins, find a home next to “Big Blues” for trash.

Materials recycled

Oklahoma City offers single-stream pick-up curbside. The city sorts recyclables so residents don’t have to, making recycling easier. The city offers “Little Blues” to any household on the normal trash pick-up route, and residents can fill them with many recyclables, including:

• Plastics 1 through 7 (emptied and rinsed; no Styrofoam or polystyrene)
• Mixed paper (includes shredded paper, paper bags, mail, newspaper, catalogs and magazines, phonebooks; no cardboard)
• Aluminum and tin cans (rinsed)
• Aluminum foil and trays (rinsed)
• Glass bottles and jars (no lids; rinsed)

Frequency

Recycling pick-up is offered during normal trash pick-up times. Oklahoma City residents must place “Little Blues” next to “Big Blues” by 6 a.m. day of service and return them to their property by 8 p.m. the following day at the latest. The city also provides pick-up of bagged yard waste placed next to the bins. The city itself offers pick-up for some 69,000 households, while contracted crews pick up for another 91,000.

Other programs

Oklahoma City offers a “beyond the bin” recycling drop-off resource page for residents to properly dispose of hard-to-recycle items, including air filters, aluminum scrap, appliances, auto parts, car batteries, disposable batteries, rechargeable batteries, electronics and accessories, books, bubble wrap, carpet padding, CDs and DVDs, CFLs, clothing, cooking oil, copper, cardboard, fishing line, foam pad, hangers and dry-cleaning bags, household hazardous waste, printer cartridges, juice cartons, lead, scrap metals, motor oil, pallets, paint, plastic bags, plastic wrap, tin cans, water filters, insulation and wiring. The city’s Utilities website has a listing of all of the local locations.

More information

Visit the City of Oklahoma City website for more recycling program info.

All photos from Recycle Santa Fe Art Festival by Colleen Hayes

Santa Fe, NM, is widely recognized as a haven for the arts. It’s the third largest art market in the country, behind New York and Los Angeles, and is home to hundreds of galleries and several renowned museums.

One weekend out of the year, Santa Fe pays homage to a particular type of artist: people who transform trash into treasures. The Recycle Santa Fe Art Festival in November brings folks from around the country together to showcase art made from recycled materials and educate the public about the importance of being green.

“It’s amazing how the event keeps growing and growing,” says Sarah Pierpont, the festival’s coordinator. The festival had 60 vendors in 2011, a new record. Artists come from as far away as Alaska and Illinois to participate.

The event opens with the Trash Fashion and Costume Contest. “It’s a great way for contestants to show off their fashion talents, debut as a model, promote recycling and have some fun,” according to a news release. The winners of the juried art show, which has youth and adult categories, are also announced that evening.

Participants in the Trash Fashion and Costume Contest

On the follow two days, attendees are invited to wander the free craft market, looking for eco-friendly holiday gifts or items for their homes. There’s also a make-and-take area, where kids and their parents can construct paper-mache masks and work on other projects that are made from recycled goods.

Artists are required to use at least 75% recycled materials in their creations. Jewelry, clothing, accessories, sculptures and garden art are among common items for sale. Artists may use everything from thrift store and flea market finds to wood and metal scavenged at scrap yards.

The festival, now in its 13th year, is part of New Mexico Recycling Awareness Month (NMRAM), which is sponsored by the New Mexico Recycling Coalition. It always coincides with Keep Santa Fe Beautiful’s recycling education efforts, which take place on America Recycles Day on November 15.

“Santa Fe is really receptive to the show,” Pierpont says. “Having it in a community that’s so supportive of the arts is really cool.” She notes that artists who come for the festival often stick around to connect with local galleries that might be interested in showcasing their work.

The festival has always provided some scholarships to artists who cannot afford the exhibitor’s fee. In 2011, in addition to cash scholarships, artists could earn a booth by volunteering in art classes at local schools. The program, called CHIMERA, was offered in partnership with the Center for Contemporary Arts Santa Fe and the Meow Wolf art collaborative. One of CHIMERA’s projects was working with kids to creating critters from recycled materials, which were displayed at the festival.

The new equipment may look like traditional garbage bins and trucks, but improvements equate to what many hope is a greener future. First and foremost is the fact that several bins are no longer required — only one 65- or 95-gallon container is needed for North Charleston residents to dump their recyclables.

Charleston County's single-stream recycling bin

That’s right, this neighborhood doesn’t have to sort the bottles, cans, plastics, papers and glass like many of us are accustomed to. All recyclables now go in the same bin. Having only one bin makes it easier on the residents, requiring fewer trips to the curb.

A large set of wheels on the huge containers comes in handy, too. Even the trucks that collect the new containers are an improvement on their predecessors. In fact, such a newfangled approach to collected recyclables had County Council Vice Chairman Elliott Summey so excited about saving money and natural resources that he was seen going door to door when the bins were delivered. So, how do new barrels and trucks exactly equate to saving money and the planet? Good question.

Each new garbage bin costs $50 to $60, and is paid for with funds from the Charleston County solid waste budget. These costs (and more!) will be recouped in operating efficiencies and cost savings at landfills. By offering single-stream recycling, residents are more likely to take up the green practice. With more materials being recycled, more money can be made off the resale of plastics, metals, glass, etc.

On the flip side of that same coin, the more material that is recycled also means less material is sent to landfills. And since landfills make money on dumping fees weighed by tonnage, fewer tons equates to fewer dollars spent.

Lastly, when less material is coming into a landfill, said landfill can be used for a longer period of time, prolonging the need to invest in a new one. Another fun tidbit about the fancy new recycling bins is that each one contains a microchip and is tracked via satellite. This means a lost bin is never really lost; thus, the homeowner doesn’t have to purchase a new one. Instead, one phone call to the county office will result in easily locating a wayward container. Longer-lasting bins, longer-lasting landfills and more efficient recycling operations — it all adds up to efficient operating for the county and eco-minded residents.

In the words of Summey, North Charleston is offering a “high-tech, customer friendly” approach to waste. It’s an important moment in our nation’s history when an elected official in the South advocates that recycling “is obviously the right environmental thing to do.” Summey continues, “It’s going to save money and make things much more convenient.”

It just goes to show that we can all do our part in promoting sustainability. Kudos to Park Circle in North Charleston for providing us with its exemplary recycling efforts.

There is nothing like the experience of spending a Saturday in Knoxville, TN, with 102,000 of your closest friends, most of them dressed in Tennessee orange, making their way to Neyland Stadium for football in the southland. It’s a sea of orange, and at the University of Tennessee, they are endeavoring to turn that orange into green.

“Make Orange Green” is a program started in the fall of 2006 that promotes and coordinates environmental stewardship activities at the University of Tennessee. The initiative is a joint effort between the Committee on the Campus Environment, the Facilities Services Department, the Office of Communications and Marketing and the Student Environmental Initiatives Committee.

Some ways UT – Knoxville makes orange green:

• To reduce waste during residence hall move-out days, UT collaborates with Goodwill Industries to collect useable clothing, household items etc. from students as they move out. The university also collects nonperishable food items and donate them to the 2nd Harvest Food Bank and the Love Kitchen. UT donated about 6,000 pounds of clothing, furniture and so on last year, and more than 11,000 pounds the two previous years. It also recycles any electronics or other such recyclables collected during move-out.
• The UT recycling program partnered with Starbucks to collect coffee grounds in Hodges Library and the Starbucks in the University Center. The grounds are mixed with the leaf compost. When school is in session, approximately 80 pounds of coffee grounds are collected per day for composting.
• UT’s Department of Facilities Services, with support from the Institute of Agriculture, is currently composting all of the campus’ fall leaf waste — more than 65 tons of material a year. Each month the compost pile is turned and watered. The leaves “cook” at a temperature of around 140º. Compost created in the pile has been used in the plantings around the Plant Biotech Building on campus and in various seasonal flowerbeds. Using the compost “closes the loop” and completes the recycling process.

To ensure its recycling program remains as hard-hitting as their defensive backs, UT makes recycling convenient for students, administration and visitors.

Recycling bins are located in residence hall rooms and hallways, in athletic facilities, in tailgate areas for football games and other special events, and in most offices, copy/mailrooms and break rooms. The program recycles paper, plastic, aluminum, cardboard, leaves, light bulbs, scrap metal, rechargeable batteries, ink cartridges, pallets, hardback books and shrink-wrap. Each year, UT recycles more than 600 tons of material.

Some recognition for UT:

• In 2009, the Knoxville campus received the Energy Efficiency Leadership Award at the first annual Summit for Campus Sustainability, a conference organized by the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.
• The Princeton Review gave UT Knoxville a “green rating” of 85 out of 99 in its “Guide to 286 Green Colleges” (2010). Among other efforts, the publication cites the campus sustainable building policy that makes the LEED rating system the standard for all new construction and renovation projects exceeding $5 million.
• The Sustainable Endowments Institute gave UT Knoxville an ‘A’ grade in the Climate Change & Energy category of its 2010 report card. The institute noted that carbon emissions from campus operations have decreased by 2% from 2005 to 2008.
• In 2007, UT – Knoxville became the nation’s first university certified for its green cleaning practices. The certification praised UT’s efforts to make the work of campus cleaning an environmentally friendly process.

Delaware’s largest city, Wilmington (pop. 70,851), partnered with Recyclebank to fuel its curbside recycling program, giving residents incentive to recycle that few other cities can offer. Wilmington residents enjoy simple, single-stream recycling on a weekly basis at no cost. Recyclebank incentives can earn them up to $25 per month in credits and coupons at chains around town.

Materials recycled

A vast number of cleaned household recyclables, all of which can be placed into a single Recyclebank bin, are accepted for pick-up:

• Glass bottles and jars
• Plastic containers with recycling symbols 1 through 7
• Aluminum cans
• Tin cans
• Steel cans (soup)
• Empty aerosol cans
• Newspaper
• Mixed paper
• Telephone books
• Soft-cover books
• White paper (includes shredded paper)
• Envelopes
• Cardboard
• Junk mail
• Magazines (inserts removed)
• Cereal boxes

Frequency

Wilmington residents have curbside pick-up on a weekly basis. Date of the week depends on the resident’s location. Route A residents (those who live east of I-95) have pick-up on Mondays (or Tuesdays following Monday holidays). Route B residents (those who live west of I-95) have Tuesday pick-up (or Wednesdays following Monday holidays). All residents must place bins curbside for pick-up before 4 a.m. on the day of collection, but not before 6 p.m. on the day prior to collection. All bins must be returned to the property by 6 p.m. day of collection. Total bin contents cannot exceed 50 pounds.

Other programs

Wilmington also offers yard waste collection for its residents on recycling pick-up days. Free yard waste bags can be found at a number of city buildings during normal business hours. Recycling collectors will notify city officials of the location of any yard waste bags found curbside and the city will have them collected within 48 hours. There is no limit on the amount of yard waste Wilmington residents can recycle, but it must be contained in paper bags (no plastic).

Delaware residents can also take advantage of a number of other recycling programs courtesy of the Delaware Solid Waste Authority, including drop-off centers, oil and oil filter recycling, electronics recycling, household hazardous waste recycling, composting and construction and demolition waste recycling.

More information

Visit the City of Wilmington, Delaware, website and the Delaware Solid Waste Authority website for more recycling program info.

In early December 2011, news broke in the Pacific Northwest on a revolutionary idea in which the company’s newest store is being constructed from reused shipping containers. Taking shape in Tukwila, WA — just south of the company headquarters in downtown Seattle — a creation of four stacked rectangular metal boxes is stirring the interest of local residents and the business world alike. According to The Seattle Times, the store is designed as both a drive-thru and walk-up location in an industrial sector of the Emerald City.

Starbucks' new store made from old shipping containers in Tukwila, WA. Photo courtesy of Inhabitat.

The containers offer 448 square feet of working spaces, which is standard for three baristas whipping up lattes, mochas and espresso behind the counter. The outside of the containers is painted in several shades of brown with a quote on one side meant to conjure green thinking: “Regenerate, Reuse, Recycle, Renew, Reclaim.” Starbucks is looking to bolster the sustainable image of the store by pursuing LEED certification.

Shipping containers have been all the rage in green circles for their seemingly endless repurposing possibilities. Whether for modular housing, stores or surf shacks, the 20-foot metal boxes are a hot topic in the sustainability profession. Seeing a company of the Fortune 500 magnitude embrace them is exciting for all.

However, the future of traditional brick-and-mortar Starbucks stores surely isn’t in question. Who knows, maybe this store is being used as a marketing stunt in a typically stale part of town. Or maybe this is the beginning of a new standard in retail. According to the Seattle Times article, “Starbucks hopes to use containers for short- or long-term cafes on properties awaiting development and in areas with lots of car traffic.”

What’s thrilling is that it appears, one way or another, the café where so may of us fuel up for the day is looking to implement greener, attention-grabbing strategies to improve the environment while still offering cups of jittery goodness to the masses.

Seattle has long been a national and international pioneer in “environmental” policy — whatever that means. Extensive recycling and sustainable lifestyles are fully integrated into the DNA of the Pacific Northwest. Put another way, the Emerald City has been undermining everything real Americans have worked for decades.

Sure, the Northwest Grocer’s Association supports Seattle’s recent vote, but that’s just a cover-up of the truth: an ongoing attack on American ideals. And, of course, the powers that be say the 5¢ tax imposed on paper bags will only encourage folks to bring reusable bags and improve upon one of the nation’s highest paper recycling rates (currently at 85%).

It’s alarming that Seattle isn’t the first city in the nation to implement such an egregious policy — not even the first city in Washington! If one of the nation’s most prominent green cities isn’t the setting the example, who is?

Edmonds, Bellingham and Mukilteo all beat Washington State’s largest, shiniest city to the punch by passing bans on thin-film plastic shopping bags. Ever heard of those places? Few outside of the state have. But this only scratches the surface of the frightful reality.

The first nation in the world to punish its populous with draconian bag bans and taxes was Bangladesh in 2002. Within the same year, Ireland caved and slapped citizens with a tax. Later, Australia followed suit by calling for a voluntary ban. All of this, of course, was in the misguided attempt to promote marine life and mitigate environmental damage.

Now America is modeling policy after other nations? How ludicrous! Half our nation can’t even name the capitals of these countries. Sure, Ireland gave the world Guinness, but even that was more than 250 years ago.

What about the worker dependent on the flawless plastic bag industry? The beach garbage grabber? The landfill filler? The beauty of plastic bags is that an overwhelming super majority of us use and dispose of them daily. How will society cope without such an integral piece of the economic web of life? In fact, because of the perfection of the plastic bag and other once-used detritus mankind has only started to achieve its penultimate purpose: creating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Unimaginable volumes of plastic bag usage helped manifest the sublime swirling vortex of waste residing in the Pacific Ocean. The selfless behavior of all of us offered uncountable pieces of plastics and other debris now endlessly circulating the globe. It’s a uniting project that all humankind can take pride in. Any lesser creation is subject to decompose, but not the plastics in the Garbage Patch.

Allure rises from the fact that all the plastics swirling in the Garbage Patch simply break down into smaller and smaller pieces. Plastics never loose their chemical makeup. Instead of decomposing, our contribution to the ocean offers each member of the aquatic food chain delicious, bite-sized plastic morsels. Without plastic bags, how is humankind supposed to leave a lasting gift for the earth? Sadly, not just our gifts to the planet are threatened by such legislation as that in Seattle.

The most terrifying reality now is the inevitable tumbling of Homo sapiens down the pyramid of evolution. Without plastic bags, we can no longer combat nature’s most menacing predators: whales and kittens.

For years denizens of coastal areas have fought the blood-thirst of whales by dumping ever-growing amounts of garbage into the waterways. This strategy was again proven effective, as a gray whale recently washed ashore in the Puget Sound, dead. Confirming what many had suspected, an autopsy revealed the whale had ingested dozens of plastic bags, which was deemed the cause of death.

Another story tells of how a bleeding-heart sap freed a ferocious kitten from being trapped inside a plastic bag, ultimately saving its life.

Without plastic bags, would we read stories like these? America would cease to be truly American. Our economy would suffer, our pride would suffer and our seat atop the world’s power structure would suffer. Without plastic bags, we’d be no better than the animals we feed them to and trap them in.