BYOB

It's Earth Month! Hooray! While the green folks keep on living green, hopefully we can encourage some not-so-green folks to do their part, even if it is for just one month. Or even one day! Every bit helps.

It is now Mid Columbia Earth Month and the City of Richland goes ABOVE and BEYOND traditional activities. This year the theme is CHOOSE TO REUSE! Gail Everett is the Environmental Education Coordinator for the City of Richland and she along with Tracy Roberts have put together a fantastic month and I would like to thank them for sharing their time and their resources with me. If you watch Good Morning Northwest (which you all should weekdays from 5:30-7AM) Gail comes in and shows us easy ways to live a greener lifestyle. You can catch special On The Green segments EVERY MONDAY for Earth Month on Good Morning Northwest.

You can find all kinds of information, activities, events, projects and facts on the very easy to navigate Earth Month Website

We are kicking off the Choose to Reuse Earth Month and all events are B.Y.O.B. that means... Bring Your Own BAG! What were you thinking? Hmmm?

Stop using plastic bags! Gosh, I'll even give you a reason to go shopping.To encourage shoppers to CHOOSE a REUSEable shopping bag, Wal-Marts in Kennewick, Richland and Pasco are giving away 1,500 reusable shopping bags this Saturday, April 4th. The first 500 shoppers, (while supplies last) between Noon and 3pm get one free reusable shopping bag. Wal-Mart reusable bags normally sell for $1 each. And get this, according to Walmart.com, their bags hold twice as much as the average plastic bag and are made from 85% recycled content! Wal-Mart also recycles plastic and reusable bags. Can't go wrong here.

Get out and get shopping! Here are some facts courtesy the City of Richland on Plastic Bag WASTE.
Remember: Choose to Reuse
Check out the Earth Month Calendar

According to the Earth Month Website, Tri City residents can make a BIG difference! Here are the numbers. There are about 57,500 families here. If those families exchanged 6 plastic bags per week with 6 reusable bags. We could save (insert drum roll here)

*49,286 bags per day
*345,000 bags per week
*1,495,000 bags per month
*17,940,000 bags per year

18 MILLION BAGS PER YEAR! Just the Tri Cities alone.
How about you? Just ONE PERSON. What can you do?

1 reusable bag keeps 1000 plastic bags out of a landfill over it's lifetime!
Now you KNOW one person really can make a difference.

Plastic Bag Facts
• According to the EPA, about 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps are used each year in the US.
• Only 5.2 percent of the plastic bags and sacks in the municipal waste stream were recycled in 2005.
• Plastic bags do not bio degrade! They do break down but never all the way. They break down into smaller bits that contaminate soil and waterways.
• Small plastic bags made up about nine percent of the debris found along various U.S. coasts in a five-year study.

*Here are some Tips For Remembering Your Bags submitted by people living in the Tri Cities:

* Keep reusable bags in the trunk of your car and put a small note on the dashboard to remind you to bring them.
* Put your keys and coupons in a bag so you can't leave without it.
* Keep your bags the same place you keep your purse or wallet.
* Include "BAG" in you shopping list as Item # 1.
* Ask the kids to remind you to bring your bags as part of earning their allowance.
* Put a reminder in your Outlook or Yahoo calendar and set it to 'ding' in the morning of the day you usually go grocery shopping.