Happy Bag Ban, Santa Barbara!
City of Santa Barbara Poster
Approximately 47 million single use plastic bags are used in Santa Barbara annually. Many of these bags end up polluting our waterways, creeks, rivers and ocean. Countless animals die each year from entanglement and ingestion of plastic litter. Although manufactured to be disposable, these ubiquitous bags take hundreds of years to break down. Even when we place plastic in our recycling bins, most of it isn’t recycled. Less than 5% of the 20 billion plastic bags used in California are recycled.
Although there has been much opposition by the plastics industry, 105 cities or counties in California have been affected by the 76 plastic bag ban ordinances that have been passed. On May 14th, the Santa Barbara ban will go into affect for large supermarkets and stores with a pharmacy. On November 14th, smaller grocery stores, drug stores, pharmacies, convenience food stores and food marts will have to comply with the new ordinance.
What does this mean for you? BYOB! Bring your own bag. Keep them in your car and use them whenever you shop because plastic disposable shopping bags will be banned and paper bags will cost 10 cents each. If you don’t already own them, purchase some reusable bags. Art From Scrap is now selling sturdy 100% cotton bags at our Retail Reuse Store for only $10.00 each.
As an environmental education organization, we’re really exited about the bag ban. For years we have educated students in our Flows To The Ocean (FTO) classes about the damaging effects that marine debris has on marine animals and the ocean environment. Thousands of students have conducted FTO projects to educate their school and the public about the perils of marine debris. Explore Ecology also conducts field trips at the Watershed Resource Center, sponsors Monthly Beach Clean Ups and teaches the public about the benefits of durable products in our waste reduction lessons. We feel proud to have helped create an educated public that convinced the city council to finally pass a bag ban after many years of debate.
City of Santa Barbara Poster
Congratulations, Santa Barbara for choosing reuse over trash!
Josh was born and raised in Santa Barbara, where his passion and curiosity for the environment began and has continued to grow. During his undergraduate studies, Josh pursued this interest at the University of California at Santa Cruz, receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Studies.
Melissa Dodos developed her passion for creative reuse as a mother of four and elementary educator over the past 25 years. She loves to inspire creativity by connecting people with resources and ideas.
Veronica grew up in San Diego and spent four years in San Luis Obispo studying Animal Science at Cal Poly. As an undergrad she learned lots about livestock, agriculture, and wildlife.
Stephanie began her journey as an educator over twenty years ago working as a preschool teacher in Washington state for a cooperative preschool program affiliated with Whatcom Community College. She loved observing the wonder and curiosity of the children and bringing them out into nature to explore the natural world. She continued her love for learning and got her teaching license and then her Montessori certification and worked as an elementary teacher in Tribal, Public, and Montessori schools. She collaborated to create a school garden and her students loved it so much that it became a special place where they could garden, read, explore, play, and it provided a safe sanctuary for students to calm down and reset when they were having difficult moments.
Morgan’s mermaid soul is always seeking adventure—swimming a relay across the Santa Barbara Channel and taking the first photo of a newborn orca off Anacapa Island being standout experiences close to home.
Lindsay Johnson