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<DIV style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-FAMILY: "> <BR><B>Bag Monster Visits the
Moscow Food Co-op </B><BR> <BR>The Bag Monster will prowl the Moscow Food
Co-op from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 16, 23, and 30. He will be
seeking shoppers who do not have reusable bags and will give out reusable bags
and info about why it is important to replace single-use plastic bags with
reusable bags. Bag Monster’s appearance is part of Bag It!, the
international effort to lessen the use of single-use plastic bags by consumers,
according to Carol Spurling, Co-op outreach and ownership coordinator.
<BR> <BR>Spurling explained why the Co-op is concerned about single-use
plastic bags: <BR><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: "><SPAN><FONT
face=Wingdings>§</FONT><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; FONT-FAMILY: "><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 7pt">
</FONT></FONT></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN>Americans use 60,000 plastic bags every five
minutes, and they are a business expense and solid waste disposal problem with
costs that are inevitably passed on to the consumer. <BR><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: "><SPAN><FONT face=Wingdings>§</FONT><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; FONT-FAMILY: "><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT
style="FONT-SIZE: 7pt"> </FONT></FONT></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN>The average
American uses about 500 plastic bags each year, for an average of 12 minutes
before they are discarded. <BR><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: "><SPAN><FONT
face=Wingdings>§</FONT><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; FONT-FAMILY: "><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 7pt">
</FONT></FONT></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN>It is estimated that 100,000 marine mammals
and seabirds die each year from becoming entangled in or ingesting plastic
debris. <BR><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: "><SPAN><FONT face=Wingdings>§</FONT><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; FONT-FAMILY: "><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT
style="FONT-SIZE: 7pt"> </FONT></FONT></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN>Plastic bags
are made of fossil fuels such as petroleum and natural gas, which are
non-renewable resources. <BR><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: "><SPAN><FONT
face=Wingdings>§</FONT><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; FONT-FAMILY: "><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 7pt">
</FONT></FONT></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN>Plastics contain compounds that are toxic to
humans and especially to babies and children. <BR> <BR>The Bag Monster
costume, which is comprised of 500 plastic bags, is worn by Dane Mills, a Moscow
High School sophomore and Co-op volunteer. <BR> <BR>As part of the Bag It!
campaign, the Co-op has also eliminated plastic grocery bags from its checkout
stands in April and is giving customers a raffle ticket for each non-disposable
bag, coffee cup, and bulk food container that they use instead of disposable
plastic products. Raffle winners are drawn each week in April and the
prize baskets are on display at the Co-op's front desk. In addition, a series of
in-store events planned for the Co-op during April include demonstrations of
products providing alternatives to the use of single-use plastics. <BR>
<BR>The Bag It! campaign increases incentives to reduce and eliminate plastic
bag usage and motivate people to use permanent, reusable shopping bags. To
reach that goal, the Co-op is partnering with University of Idaho Sustainability
Center, the UI Vandal Store, the UI Graduate and Professional Students
Association, Buy Local Moscow, and stores like the Storm Cellar, Paradise Creek
Bicycles, and the Yarn Underground for activities and special events during
April. The City of Moscow also unanimously passed a resolution in support of the
Bag It! Campaign on April 4. <BR> <BR>For more information, please e-mail
<A href="mailto:bagit@moscowfood.coop" target=_blank>bagit@moscowfood.coop</A>
or visit <A href="http://www.bagmonster.com"
target=_blank>www.bagmonster.com</A>. <BR>
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