Reusable Rebates

Across the globe, governments and businesses are realising that the tide is changing on the supply of Single Use Bags (both Paper and Plastic).

To this end, some business are becoming acutely aware of the social impact and have begun offering a discount to those customers bringing reusable bags.

When Chicago introduced a Bag Tax on 1st February where customers pay 7 cents on each paper and plastic bag some business chose to offer a reusable bag rebate to assist the transition.

Mariano’s lead the way by giving a 5 cent rebates to customers for each reusable bag they brought to use.

How's that for hitting you in the hip-pocket.

Photodegradation

An excerpt from Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photodegradation

Photo-degradation is the alteration of materials by light.

Typically, the term refers to the combined action of sunlight and air.

Photo-degradation is usually oxidation and hydrolysis but does not apply to how materials may be aged or degraded via Infrared light or heat.

This basically says that light will break down the material into smaller and smaller pieces, in some cases the pieces are not visible with the naked eye.

Biodegradation

An excerpt from Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodegradation

Biodegradation is the disintegration of materials by bacteria, fungi, or other biological means.

The term biodegradable is often used in relation to ecology, waste management, biomedicine, and the natural environment (bioremediation) and is now commonly associated with environmentally friendly products that are capable of decomposing back into natural elements.

Biodegradable matter is generally organic material that serves as a nutrient for microorganisms.

Put simply, the material in question is digested by another organism.

A month of Chicago’s Bag Tax

On the 1st February Chicago introduced a tax of 7 cents per bag for Single Use Bags - both Paper and Plastic.

To create community awareness of the tax Chicago’s Mayor distributed 25,000 ChiBags via major retailers Jewel-Osco, Mariano’s, Target and Whole Foods.

Across the country various communities are ding their bit :

• Cities/Counties with Plastic Bag Fees :
• Boulder, Colo.
• Brownsville, Texas
• Montgomery County, Md.
• New York, N.Y.
• Portland, Maine
• Washington D.C.

• Cities with Plastic Bag Bans
• Austin
• Cambridge, Mass.
• Chicago
• Los Angeles
• San Francisco
• Seattle

It might not seem to much, but every little bit helps.