Bring your own bag, please

MONTICELLO, NY — Plastic bags have been under attack from environmentalists for some time and for good reason. According to a proclamation passed on September 18 by the Sullivan County Legislature, each year Americans throw away about 100 million plastic bags, which are made from about $4 billion worth of oil.

If that weren’t bad enough, locally, on windy days the bags get caught in the trees near the landfill, and when they stay in the landfill they take up to 1,000 years to break down.

So, in keeping with the eco-friendly times, the legislature has declared October 15 as “Bring Your Own Bag Day.” On this day, residents are urged to avoid using plastic and paper shopping bags by carrying reusable bags made from cloth or other materials to grocery stores and other shops.

At the proclamation ceremony at the government center, several groups and programs were lauded for their work on helping raise awareness about the issue including Sullivan Renaissance; the “Come Clean” reusable bag program sponsored by the Bashakill Area Association and the Wurtsboro Board of Trade; “Erika’s Better Bags,” a Girl Scout Gold Award project from Barryville; and “Project Earth Sack” at Sullivan West Elementary School in Jeffersonville.