Thursday, April 14, 2011

Bag Bans Work - Maui Style

Just look at these photos from Maui and decide for yourself. It seems they are having a little trouble getting 100% compliance from all of the local stores but the impact has been immediate. Plastic bags were phased out on January 11th and bag litter seems to have decreased dramatically.

I was fortunate to be there on vacation a few weeks back and stoked to see the new ordinance. But, I was a bit bummed to see how many people simply switched to paper bags. I always travel with a couple of reusable bags and had them ready at the check out stand but why were there so many people plowing through the paper bags? The store have big signs reminding customers to 'BYO' but increased awareness is needed. Or maybe a 5-10 cent fee on paper bags? It still gives people options, and a little more incentive to remember their reusable bag.

Click Here for the full story from The Maui News.