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Remember
to use your reusable bags, reduce marine debris
and litter
Upcoming
Events |
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Earth Day at
Bahia Honda
MM37
April
20, 2013
PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR FRIENDS AND
NEIGHBORS TO ATTEND ONE OF OUR EVENTS TO GET THEIR
FREE BAG AND MAKE THE PLEDGE!
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Got Your Bags Florida Keys
News-
March 2013 |
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Dear
Friend,
Thank you for your participation in the Got
Your Bags Florida Keys program. This newsletter
is an update to our volunteers and residents who
are working together to make this campaign a
success. | |
Plastic Bag Bill
Announced |
GREAT
NEWS! A PLASTIC BAG BILL IN TALLAHASSEE,
FLORIDA
February 8th, 2013:
Senator Dwight Bullard and Rep.Kione McGhee have
filed a Plastic Bag Bill. The bill was written
by Fausto Gomez who represents a community in
the Miami-Dade area. Here is the link to Sen.
Bullard's Plastic bags bill:
http://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2013/0722
In Summary:
The Bill
proposes to give local
governments/municipalities the option to adopt
the Bill provisions by a local ordinance - it is
not mandatory across the state. Participating
Stores would be affected by this ordinance if
their local government adopts this which means
DISPOSABLE PLASTIC BAGS PROHIBITED-A
participating store may not provide to a
customer a disposable plastic bag. Customers can
use their own bags in the store or, reusable
paper bags may be dispensed for a fee of which
50% of the fee is distributed to the local
school district, 50% back to the store.
As a
State-wide bill it gives each local municipality
the option to adopt these provisions based on
the will of their local communities. This is a
very practical approach and realistically we
know that will take some time to become accepted
State-wide. In the meantime, the idea that such
a bill may exist gives groups like Got Your
Bags? Florida Keys the motivation to keep with
our campaign on plastic bag reduction.
Contact
Information:
If
you support this effort, please EMAIL, CALL OR
WRITE Senator Bullard AND THANK HIM FOR HIS BILL
AND LET HIM KNOW YOU ARE BEHIND HIM. His contact
info is: bullard.dwight.web@Flsenate.gov
District
Office:
10720 Caribbean Blvd. Suite
435
Cutler Bay, FL 33189
Call:(305)
234-2208
Senate VOIP: 43900
FAX:(305)
234-2210
PLEASE SHARE THIS WITH OTHERS WHO
MAY BE
INTERESTED.
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Who Has Take The
Pledge |
Since
our January newsletter, these additional
businesses have taken the pledge to reduce the
use of plastic bags. Ace Hardware of Big Pine
Key, Inc. Bank of Amerca Big Pine Key Big
Pine Storage CVS Big Pine Key DRN
Moving Edward Jones Financial Services:
Leslie Valant Key West Key Lime Pie
Factory NAPA Big Pine Key Smart Phone
Hospital Walton's Pet
Store |
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Our First Pledge
Point |
First State Bank of the Florida
Keys Big Pine Key location is now an official
location for residents to sign a pledge for the
Got Your Bags? Campaign. Located at 30515
Overseas Highway, Big Pine Key, residents can
visit this branch to sign their pledge to reduce
plastic bag usage ad receiva a complimentary
reusable bag. Bags are donated by Save-A-Turtle
and First State Bank. First State Bank teller
and green team captain Velvet Malloy (left) with
Shirley Gun, "Got Your Bags?"
Program.
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FAVOR Shows Their
Support |
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February 12, 2013: FAVOR (Friends And
Volunteers of Refuges Florida Keys) supports
"Got Your Bags?" Florida Keys with a new supply
of bags sporting the "Got Your Bags?" Florida
Keys logo. These bags are available in the Key
Deer Visitor center bookstore on Key Deer
Boulevard, Big Pine Key. They also made a
generous donation of bags to "Got Your Bags?"
Florida Keys. Bags were purchased from
TheRecycleBag.com, who donated back $100 to the
GYB campaign. |
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Centennial Bank Shows
Their Support |
Centennial Bank adds support to the Got
your Bags campaign with a donation of $150.00.
Pictured left to right: Ashley Todd,
Ken
Chopcinski, Sheila Cantler and Jessica
Lugo |
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Related Articles and
Links |
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2008 Video Plastic bags..."The
Harsh Facts"- This is a photo
slideshow depicting the danger of plastic bags
worldwide......and what you can do to reduce
this growing problem to our environment
June 2009 Article from Mother
Jones "Do Biodegradable
Plastics really work?" by Dave Gilson
2010 Video - The Majestic Plastic
Bag - A Mockumentary,
Narrated by Academy Award-winner Jeremy Irons,
this "mockumentary" video, hammers home the
stark reality of California's (and the nation's)
plastic bag pollution situation.
July 2010 Article Can reusable
grocery bags make you sick or is that just
baloney? - published on Consumerreports.org. Read this
sensible answer to this question.
06/02/2012 Video "LA Bans The
Plastic Bag" Interviews by Reason.TV.
Plastic bags: faithful transporters of
groceries, liners of wastebaskets, pickers-up of
dog crap and inspirers of late nineties
Hollywood screenwriters, now banned from grocery
stores by the Los Angeles City Council.. Council
members stood by the ban, despite being
confronted with evidence that bag bans have no
discernible effect on the health of the
environment and make up less than 1 percent of
California's waste stream.
06/07/2012 Story from Wild Things:
From Shore to Sea "Sperm whale: death by 100
plastic bags" by Carolyn Kraft
Fall 2012 Story from WildHope
Digital Magazine "Our Plastic Century" by
Dr. Wallace J. Nichols
12/1/2012 Story from Island Jane
Magazine "Are You a Bag Lady?" by Dolly
Garlo
12/8/2012 Article from Keynoter
Newspaper "For gifts, give what sustains" by
Shirley Gun
12/18/2012 Story on
http://plasticbagbanreport.com/ titled "Got Your
Bags - Florida Keys" by Leigh Anne
Schuler
01/10/2013 Got Your Bags Florida
Keys January 2013 Newsletter
02/14/2013 Love the Beach?
Please declare your Love for your beach by
taking and keeping this simple MyBeach pledge
our friends at Surfrider Foundation set
up. |
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Implement Got Your Bags? In Your
Community |
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Implementing
the "Got Your Bags? Florida Keys" program in Big
Pine Key has been an exciting and interesting
experience for us. We have learned a lot and
hope that others may be motivated in
implementing something similar in their local
Keys community or in other parts of the
country.
So
that you can get up to speed faster than we did,
and without reinventing the wheel, our program
material is available for download.
We
hope that other Florida Keys communities will
utilize our "branded" name "Got Your Bags?
Florida Keys" (which actually connects to a
larger national community) and logo.
For
communities outside of the Keys, the materials
should help to get you started and you can
create a program identity that matches your
location.
Please
let us know when your campaign starts and we
will be pleased to list you as a Community
Partner on our webpage.
The
materials in the Kit are in Microsoft Word,
Publisher or Powerpoint, except for the mp3
recording of the PSA that is currently running
on US1 FM104.1 Radio in the Florida Keys..
Download your copy of the marketing
kit here. |
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VOLUNTEERS
NEEDED
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| We need volunteers to help at our
various events and activities. We need help for
an hour or two at each of our booths to hand out
bags and get people signed up to "Take The
Pledge!" If you can help out, please email us
back and let us know which event date and what
time you can help. | |
We can all do our part every time we
shop. Make a point at the cashiers counter that
you have brought your own bags. Ask them if they
are with the "Got Your Bags" program. All the
businesses that have already pledged have logo
stickers on their storefront or doors. Patronize
them and keep the campaign alive.
Thank
you,
Ken
Chopcinski
Chair
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