\n\t\t\t\tHouse Speaker Joseph P. Deleon Guerrero and Rep. Angel Demapan bag groceries at Joeten Dandan on Tuesday. (Contributed Photo)\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nCustomers will say no to plastic bags as Joeten, MINA\u2019s 2013 Green Business of the Year, will not be distributing any every Tuesday, as a part of MINA\u2019s Plastic Bag Challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cTaya\u201d means \u201cnothing\u201d in the indigenous Chamorro language.<\/p>\n
According MINA program manager Becky Ada Furey, the campaign\u2019s goal is to completely eliminate the use of plastic bags, which is the most littered item on the island.<\/p>\n
Joeten in Susupe passed out over 100 reusable bags at its location on Tuesday. Furey told Saipan Tribune that customers can purchase MINA\u2019s reusable bags in green, orange, or blue for 99 cents each.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think this is amazing. It is a great way to try to tidy up the island and keep it clean,\u201d said Saipan resident Walter Manglona. \u201cGo green! It would be great to see it every day of the week.\u201d<\/p>\n
Customers like Walter will get 10 cents off their store purchase when using MINA\u2019s bags, labeled \u201cI choose to reuse.\u201d Customers can also get a 5-cent discount by using their personal reusable bags at any Joeten grocery store location.<\/p>\n
During Tuesday\u2019s event, volunteer celebrities bagged groceries and handed out free reusable eco bags for an hour, in an effort to encourage the community to reduce the use of plastic bags.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not just practicing what we are preaching; we are making it a daily practice,\u201d said volunteer celebrity bagger and Saipan Tribune\u2019s 2015 Person of the Year Nola Hix.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Education Specialist program manager Bobby Cruz echoed Hix\u2019s sentiments.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we are not good stewards of the resources we have today then we are not thinking about of our future,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel like if I can do one small thing to help educate people to be environmentally responsible and to promote that attitude, I am doing my part.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
House Speaker Joseph P. Deleon Guerrero, Delta Air Lines sales account executive Chris Concepcion, and BECQ\u2019s marine biologist Steven Johnson were among the 15 local celebrities who assisted the organization in its campaign launch.<\/p>\n
Furey said that community feedback has been positive so far. \u201cToday is just the start,\u201d she added. \u201cMINA has plans to make the Taya Plastic Bag campaign more than once a week.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know it is a challenge to accept change and adapt to it. Right now, we know to gradually phase out plastic bags and convince the islands to say no to plastic bags because they are destroying the environment,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A portion of the money gained through the purchase of MINA\u2019s eco-friendly bags will go to the organization. To learn more about the Plastic Bag Challenge call MINA at 233-7333 (REEF) or email minaoutreach@gmail.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Every Tuesday will be a little bit greener now. The Micronesia Islands Nature Alliance, in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":192647,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[2399,554,2314,38],"class_list":["post-192644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","tag-during-tuesday","tag-mina","tag-plastic-bag-challenge","tag-saipan-tribune"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=192644"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192644\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/192647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=192644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=192644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=192644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}