Dear Members,
This week I’m honored to turn this space over to the Green Team, our committee dedicated to environmental and sustainability initiatives. I’ve asked the team to share with us more information about the upcoming phase-out of the Co-op’s single-use plastic bags.
My thanks to all of our employees and members for the hard work, tenacity, and teamwork it’s taken to make this happen. And my thanks to the members of the Green Team for taking the time to tell us more about it. —ed
Saying Goodbye To Plastic Bags
Friday is the day. The last day for plastic bags that is. The Green Team would like to take this opportunity to thank members and employees for their help through this process, from giving us feedback and communicating concerns to jumping in and coming up with strategies the Co-op could implement to help everyone think more about reuse. We couldn’t have made it this far without the help and teamwork of all of you.
We’d like to ask for just a little more help. Please join us and continue to encourage others to reuse their shopping bags. We know no matter which type of bag is used there are environmental impacts, but if bags are reused those impacts are lessened. It may cost more and use more energy to produce a paper bag. But that paper bag can be reused, over and over, and then recycled. Cloth bags can last decades—just talk to any cashier on the front-end. I’m sure some members have bags that are older than some of us who work at the Co-op. Your support in these efforts does not go unnoticed.
Our Co-op’s elimination of plastic bags is the start of a community movement away from single-use and towards conservation and reuse. And here we are, right at the beginning. I hope you’ll join the Green Team in their excitement about all the different ways our Co-op can be a leader throughout this movement.
As Vermont and New Hampshire consider legislation to ban single-use plastic bags, the Co-op will not have to scramble to react, but instead can lead and provide help to other community businesses going through this change process. People are paying attention to the things we do and our leadership on social, economic, and environmental issues.
Change is not easy, and your help in effecting this new direction in operations has been amazing. We hope to have inspired you to work on sustainable efforts throughout the Co-op. There’s more great work to come in 2020 … just without plastic shopping bags.
Co-op Green Team
Emily Rogers, Paula Gallien, Mary Ellen Perenteau, Eugene Cassidy, Beverly Killbourn, Patricia Jalburt
Ed Fox
Latest posts by Ed Fox (see all)
- 2019 At a Glance - March 2, 2020
- An Important Message for Our Members - February 21, 2020
- Saying Goodbye To Plastic Bags - January 29, 2020