Reusable shopping bags combat global warming
By Angela Greiner Contributing Writer

PHOTO/ANGELA GREINER Green Marlborough member Jayne Wilson thanks Dennis Sargent, the assistant store manager of Hannaford's supermarket, for the donation of 200 reusable shopping bags. The shopping bags will be distributed to the community as part of the "Green Holiday" initiative.

Marlborough - All those plastic bags from all those shopping trips build up. Green Marlborough hopes to stem the plastic tide.

On Dec. 1, the local environmental advocacy group, will launch a "Green Holiday" initiative to raise public awareness and educate the community of the impact that plastic bags have on the environment.

Green Marlborough will also hand out free, reusable shopping bags during the "Green Holiday" campaign that runs the first four Saturdays in December, beginning at 9 a.m. at the Post Office.

"This initiative is part of our commitment to do what ever we can to combat global warming," Green Marlborough founder Jayne Wilson said.

The organization's goal is to find changes that Marlborough residents can make, "ones that are easy, fast and aff ordable," she said.

"Not every building in Marlborough is going to have solar panels, but everyone can use reusable bags, and everyone can change to CFLlight bulbs," Wilson said.

With the recent statistics being released about the significant climate change forecast for the impending future, Wilson said she is very concerned.

"We do not have much longer to wait," she said. "We have to do it now."

Hannaford's Supermarket in Marlborough recently donated 200 reusable grocery bags, which retail for $1.50, to Green Marlborough.

"The support of the business community is critical … Hannaford's has really stepped out to the plate," Wilson said.

Hannaford's Assistant Store Manager Dennis Sargent said that the bags were very popular with the patrons.

"It is our pleasure to be part of the commitment to enhance the community," Sargent said.

Plastic shopping bags cost American consumers more than a billion dollars a year. They then cost the city an additional 17 cents per bag for disposal. The reusable bags will actually save shoppers (in stores that like Hannaford's that participate) five cents a bag on their grocery bill.

"The handled shopping bags we get at the grocery store and other stores are extremely detrimental to the environment," Wilson said.

The bags can last up to 1,000 years in a landfill; they also contaminate the water and the soil, she said.

"Outside of landfills, they end up in fields, lakes, streams and the ocean, where marine and land animals can accidentally ingest them and choke to death," she said.

Besides being an environmental nightmare to dispose of, producing plastic bags uses millions of barrels of oil and petroleum each year. Wilson explained that not only does this process severely deplete natural resources, it also produces pollution.

The impact of just one person changing to reusable bags over a two-year period is significant, said Jennifer Boudrie, founding Green Marlborough member. Used twice a week for two years a consumer would save 832 plastic bags, 11 pounds of gas, enough petroleum to drive 60 miles, and save the city $140 in disposal fees.

"Our mission is to make a difference in our community; we can't change the world, but we can change our community, and if a lot of communities do this that will make a significant impact," Wilson said. "Using reusable canvas shopping bags is a small step that all of us can take right here and right now. And if we all do our part, working together, then these small steps can make a huge difference."