"A Bag's Life" Campaign Encourages Floridians to Change Habits, Creates Buzz for Plastic Bag Recycling

TALLAHASSEE, FL, Apr 22 (MARKET WIRE) --
A statewide plastic bag recycling awareness campaign called A Bag's Life,
which includes an interactive and educational website (www.abagslife.com)
and mobile application with 1,600 recycling drop-off sites by zip code,
was launched during Earth Day at the Capitol with the help of Governor
Charlie Crist, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Florida
Retail Federation.

A Bag's Life encourages Floridians to reduce, reuse and recycle carryout
bags and other materials like dry cleaning and bread bags, and the wraps
on items like paper towels or bottled water. Quirky but direct messaging
like "Don't Treat Me Like Trash" and "Gimme a Second Chance" comes
straight from an iconic bag. It includes a video contest and social
networking element to fire up support for contests that will be held in
the fall. The easy to use recycle location finder lists the nearest
drop-off points and the Google Maps option makes recycling plastic bags
and wraps easier than ever before.

Demonstrating what public and private groups can accomplish by working
together, A Bag's Life is a cooperative effort of the DEP, Florida
Recycling Partnership, Florida Retail Federation, Recycle Florida Today
and the Progressive Bag Affiliates of the American Chemistry Council. The
campaign is being touted as the first of its kind nationally because of
its voluntary statewide reach and innovative comprehensive list of
drop-off locations from the state's largest retailers, including grocery
and home improvement stores. More are expected as popularity and
measurability increase.

"Retailers recognize the important role they have to play in Florida's
recycling policies, and they embrace that role with enthusiasm," said
Samantha Hunter Padgett, executive coordinator of the Florida Retail
Federation Sustainability Council. "Many of our members are already
actively engaged in the effort to recycle plastic bags. A Bag's Life
takes those efforts one step further by making it easy for customers to
locate the nearest recycling opportunity at their favorite local
retailer."

The plastic bag icon on the website is designed to take on a life of its
own, smiling when it's happy, frowning when it's not. Website copy
suggests that individuals should step up and do their part to address
litter and waste rather than blame the bag if it's not being recycled or
reused.

"Recycling plastic bags is a responsibility we all share and by embracing
positive 'green' actions today, we benefit the future of our planet,"
said Lauren McCarthy, executive director of the Florida Recycling
Partnership. "By taking the extra time to bring bags back to the store
and drop them in recycling bins, people are not only giving that bag a
second chance to be made into something else like outdoor decking, park
benches or new bags, they're also incorporating simple earth-friendly
practices into their daily lives."

Video Contest and "Caught in the Act"
Florida residents are encouraged
to upload one-minute fun and/or educational videos to www.abagslife.com
telling the story of A Bag's Life, and the top viewed clips will be
judged on creativity, with final prizes awarded in the fall. Grand prizes
will be awarded in two categories -- Reuse Fun and Recycling Educational.

The video contest will be followed by Caught in the Act recycling events
in various cities, where social media, including Facebook and Twitter,
will fire up support and offer clues where people can drop off their bags
in return for prizes.

Earth Day 2010
The A Bag's Life launch corresponds with Earth Day at the
Capitol. A celebration that marks 40 years since its inception, the theme
for this year's celebration is "Easy as One -- Ordinary Habits,
Extraordinary Results." About 1,000 school children participated in a
DEP-sponsored recycling contest and attendees were asked to bring 22
plastic bags in honor of the day's events on April 22nd to be recycled
into a pirate ship, made from recycled plastic lumber.

About A Bag's Life
A Bag's Life is a public educational campaign that
unites the Florida Recylcing Partnership with non-profits, business,
community and government organizations around the common goal of
promoting the three R's as they relate to plastic bags -- reduce, reuse
and recycle. Visit www.abagslife.com.

Additional Resources and Links:
Bag Blog & News:
http://www.abagslife.com/news
Become a fan on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/A-Bags-Life
Follow A Bag's Life on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/abagslife

Media contact:
Randy Ziffer
randy@ziffberry.com
850-567-7590

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