Plastic or Planet?

Shoppers at City Market and Safeway in Alamosa stepped up to make a difference on Earth Day, April 22nd 2008.  Approximately one hundred reusable grocery bags were purchased by shoppers at Safeway and City Market on Earth Day as part of an effort to increase public awareness on the benefits of using a reusable shopping bag.

Staff members from Adams State College Community Partnerships and student athletes from Adams State College set up displays and sold the bags throughout the day at the grocery stores.  The reusable bags feature the EARTH Group and Adams State College logos. EARTH, which stands for Environmental Action for Resources, Transportation and Health, is a grassroots group of Adams State College faculty, staff, students, and community members. The group's purpose is to explore ways to make the Adams State College campus more sustainable, or "greener."

The reusable grocery bags are made from natural cotton canvas, and when used on shopping trips they eliminate the waste of plastic bags.  Not only is using the bags a way to help to reduce waste, but it is also a way to give back to the community. Each time a bag is used at City Market or Safeway in Alamosa, a small donation is given back to Adams State College Community Partnerships and the EARTH Group. The bags will be available at City Market, Safeway, The Valley Food Cooperative, the Adams State College Bookstore, or by contacting Community Partnerships at 587-8209.

The facts on plastic bag usage can be startling. Four to five trillion plastic bags are manufactured worldwide each year. Many of these plastic bags end up in landfills or are carried by the wind into forests, ponds, rivers, lakes, and the ocean. Plastic bags are often mistaken as food by marine animals, and about 100,000 marine animals die each year from ingesting plastic waste.

Plastic or Planet Video