'Got Your Bags?' Campaign Kicks Off in Sacramento

Statewide effort to promote reusable shopping bags and increase plastic bag
recycling

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Sept. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Today non-profit, government and
business groups joined together to kick off the "Got Your Bags?" campaign -- a
public education and outreach effort aimed at encouraging Californians to use
reusable bags for shopping and bring plastic bags back to the store for
recycling.

California state law (AB 2449) requires grocery stores and pharmacies with
more than 10,000 square feet of retail space to provide bins for the
collection and recycling of plastic shopping bags. Yet research shows that
consumer awareness remains low, and shoppers often forget to bring their bags
back to the store. The same holds true for reusable bags.

"Our goal with this campaign is to give consumers that extra reminder so they
translate good intentions into action," said Christine Flowers-Ewing,
Executive Director of Keep California Beautiful. "We all play an important
role in increasing plastic bag recycling, stopping litter and helping to make
California the most beautiful and cleanest state in the nation!"

In Sacramento, the "Got Your Bags?" campaign is working to bring together a
coalition of partners that will help spread the important environmental
messages in a number of creative ways. For example, 15 Save Mart stores in
the Greater Sacramento area -- Sacramento and the cities of Carmichael, Davis,
Elk Grove, Folsom, Orangevale, Rocklin, and Roseville -- today will give away
up to 15,000 reusable bags to their customers.

"We encourage our customers to recycle their single-use plastic bags in our
stores and to utilize our reusable bags every time they shop. Our durable
reusable bags close the loop: they are manufactured from recycled material
that is also easily recycled when the bags are worn out," said Alicia
Rockwell, Director of Public Relations with Save Mart Supermarkets. "Our
company works hard to educate our customers to Reduce-Reuse-Recycle and the
'Got Your Bags?' campaign is a great extra push to reinforce and remind us
all."

"Choosing a reusable bag over a one-way paper or plastic bag is a simple
choice we can each make that benefits the environment," said Margo Reid Brown,
chair of the California Integrated Waste Management Board. "We are pleased to
partner with Keep California Beautiful and others on 'Got Your Bags?' It's the
call to action we need to remind us to bring our reusable bags with us while
shopping."

The American Chemistry Council, which includes the Progressive Bag Affiliates
-- a group of leading manufacturers and recyclers of plastic bags and plastic
resins in the United States -- also are participating in the effort. "We are
delighted to work with Keep California Beautiful to help promote access to
convenient recycling for Sacramento residents," said Tim Shestek, Senior
Director of State Affairs with the American Chemistry Council. "Plastic bags
are too valuable to waste and should be recycled. I'm excited to provide
plastic bag holders to Save Mart Supermarkets customers for today's event to
provide an easy way to collect and store plastic bags for recycling.
Recycling these bags and wraps allows them to have a second life as new
products."

The "Got Your Bags?" campaign originated as a grassroots effort with the
Mariposa County Public Works Department (MCPWD) and the Mariposa County
Unified School District, who worked together on a pilot stenciling project in
local supermarket parking lots. MCPWD staff created the "Got Your Bags?"
slogan and logo stencil design. The stencil painting was then incorporated
into a lesson plan on recycling for summer school students.

To learn more about the "Got Your Bags?" campaign, visit
www.keepcaliforniabeautiful.org, or call 916-368-9301.

SOURCE Keep California Beautiful

Christine Flowers-Ewing, +1-916-844-6457, keepcabeautiful@sbcglobal.net, for
Keep California Beautiful