The Courage To Take The Green Step Forward

In March, 2007, National Geographic’s, Strange Days on Planet Earthaired nationwide. The special’s scientific detectives scoured the world to find bizarre stories about air and water pollution, air quality, and disappearing wildlife. Debra Ward, a Reno marketing entrepreneur was watching this gripping special, and learned quickly about the North Pacific gyre, a clockwise-rotating current of plastic the size of Texas floating in the ocean. The mass of plastic in this area was six times that of the plankton. Nearly 100,000 marine mammals die annually due to ingestion and entanglement of plastic (over a trillion freeplastic bags consumed worldwide every year). In another study conducted, 82 of 144 examined bird species were carrying plastic debris in their stomachs. The clear message from these studies is that plastics simply don’t vanish when we throw them away.

Unlike many who watched wondering what they could do, Debra immediately took action, and found a way to reduce plastic consumption and pollution. The very next day, at the computer, she began designing a reusable grocery shopping bag that is better than average inexpensive totes which are too small for groceries. She developed a design that allowed the bag to roll up and seal neatly with Velcro. She then began researching a fabric that is made of recycled plastic, (reducing landfills of the 27 billion plastic bottles the US consumes yearly) and found a US textile manufacturer in Thailand (with fair labor practices). Debra is currently working with a U.S. company to manufacture the bags because she wants to employ U.S. citizens. She will be using 100% recycled PET (recycled plastic bottle) fabric which is the strongest on the market today. (By using recycled bottles, we can help save room in America’s landfills. We use over 27 billion plastic bottles every year in the US and half of those bottles end up in our landfills.)

Debra applied for a US patent and has a patent pending.

The new EZGB prototype worked great, a much better bag than anything on the market today. It is as strong as a suitcase and will last a lifetime, unlike many inexpensive logo totes in the markets today. Equipped with longer handles, larger capacity, and more pockets, it also rolled neatly into a little bundle that ladies could put into their purses, and guys into jacket pockets. The EZGB reduces plastic bottles in landfills, and reduces hundreds of plastic bags yearly. And since plastic bags consume vast quantities of non-renewable resources in their production process, the EZGB saves oil too.

Armed with determination, and a willingness to take on her role as a responsible and environmentally friendly small Reno business, Debra’s first order arrived in the US just in time for the City of Reno’s 2008 Green Summit, and the bag sold-out. Mayor Bob Cashell bought four and took photos with Debra in support of her efforts and dedication to make a difference by encouraging others to reuse more and waste less. Since then, EZGrocerybag.com was awarded the Green Company of the Year by NCET and Debra has received the Senatorial Certificate of Achievement.

Debra plans on introducing the bag to retail stores in November, 2008, and the bags are currently on sale online at www.ezgrocerybag.com or www.ezgb1.com. The bags are currently available at Ben’s Liquors in South Reno. All packaging materials and displays are made of recycled paper and compostable plastics.

Debra will be speaking at the City Council Meeting in regards to banning free plastic bags in Reno.

From concept to reality, Debra deserves to be applauded for her 15 hour days, and her dedication to making a GREEN difference. All this in just six months, she’s truly remarkable.

To: Committee Members
From: Debra Ward, Concerned Reno Citizen

Read at the November council meeting accepting public comment on a proposed plastic bag ban or incentives for grocery store chains that stop providing free plastic bags.

Introduced a little more than 25 years ago, free plastic bags are accumulating in our environment at an alarming rate. They’re everywhere: you’ve seen them blowing along our roadways, stuck in trees, and stuffed into our cabinets at home. According to the Wall Street Journal, the U. S. alone consumes 100 billion free plastic bags annually. While this massive consumption has represented a windfall for the plastic bag industry, the true costs to society from all these free bags are enormous and the production of plastic bags consumes vast quantities of non-renewable resources.

Plastic bags are a REAL problem. In a study conducted by a group of scientists for National Geographic, in the North Pacific, there lays the Gyre- a clockwise-rotating current of plastic the size of Texas floating in the ocean. The mass of plastic in this area is six times that of the plankton. Nearly 100,000 marine mammals die annually due to ingestion and entanglement of plastic. Locally, here in the Great Basin we face the deaths of wild horses every year via intestinal blockage as they are unable to digest the torn apart pieces of plastic bags that blow into our open spaces. I counted 200 bags on the side of the road last week in Fernley. Plastic bags do not biodegrade.

Here in Reno we have the added expense of pulling them from our storm drains, water treatment equipment, and out of our rivers, with waste management doing a great job at keeping them contained, but at what cost? Each year, millions of taxpayer dollars are spent collecting a tiny fraction of this litter, and most of it remains, polluting our environment. According to waste management, only 42% of Reno citizens recycle. Many bars, including Bully’s, which go through thousands of beer bottles a week do NOT recycle. What happens to 58% of the plastic and glass we throw away in Reno? Currently, it goes directly to our landfills.

China and Rwanda have banned free plastic bags. Ireland took the lead in Europe taxing plastic bags and has now reduced plastic bag consumption by 90%. In March, 2007, San Francisco became first US city to ban plastic bags. Now American Chemistry Council wants to sue them for trying to do something good for the environment. Now let me ask you, is that environmentally responsible position for a company to take during a green revolution? The American Chemistry Council has reported spending $180,000 in August to fight a 20-cent fee on paper and plastic bags which was approved by the Seattle City Council in July. By buying free plastic bags, retail and grocery stores are supporting an industry that is NOT environmentally friendly.

If US cities are going to be threatened to be sued for doing the right thing for the environment, then the decision is simple. Let’s reward retail stores and grocery store chains for banning the free plastic bags on their own. Retailers cannot be sued for not carrying plastic bags. But they can be rewarded for taking on green practices in a city that cares about the environment and take the lead for other cities to follow. Wal-Mart and IKEA are now discussing banning plastic bags in their stores and I applaud them for their work.

Before us is a choice. We can either sit back and let powerful industries set the agenda (keeping us on this treadmill of mindless over-consumption) or wake up and take action. By promoting a policy of reduction by encouraging or even rewarding retail chains for banning the purchase of plastic bags on their own and offering ONLY reusable bags, Reno can be a leader in the growing green revolution and doesn’t ever have to worry about being sued.

We can choose to grow Reno green.

Thank you.

Debra P. Ward
Owner/Consultant
Dream Weaver Marketing
PO Box 10614
Reno, NV 89510-0614
(775) 530-3556