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More information: http://foodcoop.com/go.php?id=458
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Top Reasons
Presented by the General Coordinators
To Approve the Proposed Phase Out of Plastic Roll Bags at the May General
Meeting
NOT
If this proposal passes at the May General Meeting (GM),
What Is A Plastic Roll Bag?
these bags will no longer be provided by the Coop
High Usage Among Coop Members
78% of Coop members, or 12,500 people, use plastic roll bags when
they shop
In comparison, only 27%, or 3,500 people, were using plastic grocery bags when
eliminated at the GM in 2007
No Free, Readily Available Alternative
• Any alternative available at the Coop will cost YOU money!
• In comparison, when plastic grocery bags were eliminated, boxes were freely available for members to convey their groceries.
• The Coop strives to make itself economically accessible to all who want to join. Eliminating plastic roll bags will add a cost to people’s membership.
Roll Bags Allow Members to Easily Purchase High Volumes of Minimally Packaged Local,
Organic, Fresh Food96% of items taken home in these bags come from produce, bulk and baked goods aisles.
Members purchase 160,000 lbs. of these minimally packaged items weekly!
The Elimination of Roll Bags May Have A Negative Impact
on The Coop's Financial Health 36% of members surveyed said they
would either forgo or delay a planned purchase in the absence of roll bags, despite availability of alternative bags. In a worse case scenario, this would translate into lost sales.
The Proposed Elimination of Roll Bags Assumes Members
Will Bring Enough Bags (either re-used, reusable or new) with Them EVERY TIME
They Shop
WE DISAGREE!
Ask Yourself These Questions
I don’t have enough
bags…. Should I buy ANOTHER reusable bag?
Will I really bring enough bags with me EVERY TIME I shop at
the Coop?
What if I go to the Coop on
the spur of the moment?
Should I put something
back?
Should I pass on these luscious
local strawberries?
Should I just buy the pre-packaged
salad mix?
It Will Cost You More to Shopat The Coop
Why?If you switch to pre-packaged items,
those items will always be more expensive
You will likely have to purchase alternatives to roll bags
Purchasing items in a heavier reusable bag will definitely increase the cost of your groceries
Roll Bag Alternatives Are Expensive
The Coop spends $1.43 annually to provide the average member with 161 roll bags
The least expensive comparable alternative costs $1.09 for 5 bags
One large muslin bag costs $1.95If you purchased only 20 bags/year,
you will spend $4.36 – $39.00 at a minimum
Heavier Reusable Bags Increase the Cost of Your
GroceriesIn a controlled study of the costs of heavier bags sold at the Coop, using large green plastic or any cloth reusable bags increased the cost of groceries between 5 – 9%
If you spend only $40/week on produce and bulk, the weight of these alternatives adds $104 – $202 annually to your grocery bill.
Eliminating Roll Bags Is Not anEnvironmentally Sound
DecisionHDPE plastic roll bags (like ours) have a smaller environmental footprint than alternatives like cotton or heavier plastic
Reusing and repurposing plastic roll bags further reduces their impacts
Can You Re-use Your Cotton Bag
131 Times?You would have to reuse your cotton or LDPE (heavier plastic) bags at least 131 or 4 times, respectively, to ensure lower environmental impact than an HDPE roll bag
If you shop weekly, you would have to reuse a single cloth bag for 2.5 years to reduce its impact to that of a single plastic roll bagYou would have to reuse these bags more
times if you wash in between uses
Sanitation!As clean as the Coop is, the
checkout belts and shopping carts are not cleaned daily
Some members choose to use plastic roll bags to protect their food for health, sanitary or religious reasons
Non-waterproof alternatives won't meet the needs of these members
Other Plastic Bag Bans EXCLUDE Plastic Roll Bags
San Francisco ban EXCLUDES produce roll bags because of sanitary considerations
In Ireland, EXEMPTIONS include “heavier weight reusable plastic bags; bags used for meat, fish, or poultry; bags for unpackaged produce, ice, or other foods without packaging.”
Bans Don’t Actually Change Behavior
According to reuseit.com, “Bans shove, not nudge, people
to change their behavior.” Nudging (and educating) is what results in long-term changes in
behavior.
Summary We provide plastic roll bags because they allow us to
provide good quality, inexpensive, healthy and environmentally friendly food in keeping with the Coop’s mission
The roll bag elimination will force a shift to alternatives that are harder on the environment, some significantly so. The shift will also cost members who use alternatives significantly more money
We are committed to continually reducing the Coop's environmental footprint. Banning roll bags is not the way to achieve that goal
We believe Coop efforts should be focused on the reuse and reduction of roll bags, not elimination
Please come to the May 28 GM and vote against the elimination of plastic roll bags
from the Coop