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‘Reusable tote bags a success’
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Posted on Jul 29 2008
Shoppers are saving money and helping the environment by using reusable bags instead of plastic bags at one local grocery store.
As part of the Department of Environmental Quality’s Green Business Initiative, the organization gave 100 tote bags to Joeten stores and Carmen Safeway for consumers to use instead of plastic bags for groceries, DEQ spokesperson Reina Camacho said.
Each time a consumer uses a reusable bag, they are eligible for a $25 drawing each week to use at the store. The initiative has ended at Joeten, but will continue at Carmen Safeway through December, Camacho said.
She said consumers have finally started noticing the bags and are using them more.
“People need to see it several times before it clicks in their head,” she added.
Camacho also noted that any type of reusable bag could be used, not just bags provided by DEQ.
She said she’s not quite sure why more people are using the bags, but hopes it does have to do with the environment.
“I’m hoping that the real reason that people are wanting to use tote bags are because they’re realizing they are using a lot of plastic bags, that the reusable bags are better for the environment,” she said.
The $25 savings might also be luring consumers, she added. [B][I](Kristi Eaton)[/I][/B]
