2 Photocourtesy of DaveBurdick Baghabit Cleaning up Guam one plastic bag at a time TAKE ACTION Voice your concerns to your village mayor and set an example by picking up litter yourself and disposing of it properly. Contact local recycling and cleanup programs to see if you can aid their efforts: Micronesian Divers Association, 472-6324 Recycling Association of Guam, www.guamrecycling.org Guam Environmental Protection Agency, http://epa.guam.gov BREAKING IT DOWN Carina Pegarido, Pay-Less Supermarkets marketing manager, says the United States Environmental Protection Agency has stated it takes 1,000 years for a plastic bag to completely break down. According to Pegarido, the Recycling Association of Guam has tallied the total distribution of plastic bags on Guam at about 40 million. Pay- Less contributes to 28 percent, or 11,361,000 of those plastic bags. Pay-Less plans to eliminate the use of 1.1millionofitsplasticbagsthisyearthrough its Mission: Zero Bags campaign, which begins on January 25, 2012. TARNISHED PARADISE Plastic bags are amongst the thousands of pounds of trash that sits stagnant on the island in illegal dumping sites. The Micronesian Divers Association led a cleanup program of several dumping sites and removed over 40,000 pounds of trash. 23,614 pounds was recyclable. 4,400 pounds of trash was removed fro m one particular dumpsite in Yona. Weleftitspotless. But if you go back now you wouldn t know a cleanup ever happened there, says Matt Ladmirault, of the endless littering on Guam. Ladmirault is the MDA travel coordinator. Trash on Guam is nothing new. It can be seen clogging the gutters of the streets, piled high in the island s forests and soiling its glimmering beaches. Dip beneath the surface of its waters and ocean life can be seen teeming around trash that slipped below the waves. Something needs to be done. Why not start with the plastic bag, one of the island s most accessible catchalls? They re distributed at practically every local vendor and commercial retail location. Plastic bags have become a staple in the world s society. But there are some who are choosing a more responsible way to carry their purchases home. Bringing reusable bags with them when they shop, environmentally conscious shoppers shun traditional packaging for something that won t end up tarnishing their surroundings. The RecyclingAssociation of Guam (says) thetotal distribution of plastic bags on island is about 40 million, says Carina Pegarido,Pay-Less Supermarkets marketing manager. According to Pegarido, the supermarket chain contributes to 28 percent of that, which translates into 11,361,000 plastic bags. Pay- Less plans to eliminate 1.1 million of those bags this year with their Mission: Zero Bags campaign. A program which is designed to make shoppers more cognizant of their environmental footprint by offering them no plastic on certain days, Pegarido says. Thereisan expense attachedto this effort,butintheend,itisalong-termin - vestment for our island co m munity, she says. Pay-Less Go Green program is designedto help improve and preserve Guam s environment. We hope that the co m munity will join us in this endeavor and become more aware of their environmental impact. We wantto help people understand the effects of plastic bags onourisland and what they candotojoin us in this mission. A n old ma tr ess is br ough t up dur ing a div e cleanup.photo courtesy of Micronesian Divers A so cia tion. Pay-Less is not alone in its efforts to clean up Guam. The Micronesian Divers Association performed several cleanups across the island through a grant with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, says Matt Ladmirault, MDA travel coordinator. I veseen (the trash), says Ladmirault. Itdoesn tlook verypretty. During the MDA cleanup campaign, volunteers removed over 40,000 pounds of trash from illegal dumping sites, according to Ladmirault. 23,614 pounds of that trash was recycled. None of it was pretty. We found a lot of dumped animals in plastic bags, he says. At one dumpsite in Yona, volunteers picked up 4,400 pounds of trash before the site was close to what nature intended. The mentality of the whole island needsto change, says Ladmirault. The government can t hold people s hand at all times.ifpeople s mentality is they don twantto see their beachestrashed (this wouldn t ha pp en).i ve beento places where that s the mentality, where they wouldn t think of throwing that stuff on the ground. According to Pegarido, the United States Environmental Protection Agency has listed the lifespan of a single plastic bag at 1,000 years before it begins to degrade. For Ladmirault, the natural resources of the island are being polluted every day trash isn t disposed of properly. It s unseemly, he says. I m not a scientist or marine biologist, but it looks filthy, he says. Fish is the main food source for the island I wouldn t eat trash and if your food is swimming in it, it s like you re eating it.
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4 RitaOliva of Nimitx Hill waitsfor her groceriestobe put in a Paylessrecycleable shopping bag. Mangilao Pay-Less has recycle bins at the entranceoftheirstore for aluminum cans,plastic bottles and regular trash. Recyclingbinsfor plastics and aluminum will be placed at each storelocation. Pay-Less will partner up with the i*recycleprogram to donate the aluminum cansto the schools. Pay-Less Super markets: goal is NOplastic bags For more than a decade, Pay- Less Supermarkets have been among the most active corporate citizens doing their part to protect Guam s fragile environment. Those efforts hit new levels four years ago, when Guam s largest grocer revamped its Go Green campaign. Besides re-introducing the popular bright green re-usable shopping bags, the company switched to biodegradable plastic bags. It cost a little more, says company executive Vice President Kathy Calvo Sgro, but the results and awareness are worth it. Go Green reached every aspect of company operations. New machinery and energy efficient equipment replaced older technology. The company collected some 600 tons of cardboard each year. They donated paper waste for agricultural use and changed standard procedures to generate less paper. This year, Pay-Less makes its biggest statement of all. Come Jan. 25, the grocer will change the way it does business. Again. It s called the Mission Zero Bags (M0B) campaign. Its goal: eliminate all use of plastic bags even the biodegradable ones at each store location. As Guam s largest provider of plastic bags, Pay- Less acknowledges our social responsibility to encourage customers to develop habits that protect our environment, says Sgro. If we can convince each of our customers to shop with reusable bags, our combined efforts can create drastic changes changes that will hopefully spread to our entire island community. n continued on Page 5
n Continued from page 4 5 When compared against the Recycling Association of Guam s estimated 40,000,000 plastic bags that Guam s consumers use each year, Pay-Less realized that their share made up 28 percent of the total. Even though the 11 million plastic bags they ve passed out since 2008 were all biodegradable, Sgro says the switch did not solve all the problems hence the new M0B mission. Tw o-y earold Kamia JoySabangan and her mom H a'a nis a- bangan shop at Payless Mangilao with their r ec y- cleable shopping bags. COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP While i*recycle Program Administrator Peggy Denney would rather see the elimination of all plastic bags right now, she also knows she doesn t run a huge grocery chain. She worked with Pay- Less management to help formulate the mission. I m just thrilled about it. I would like to be more aggressive but the fact that they re doing it at all is certainly commendable, she says. One of the things people don t always understand about biodegradable products which means they can be composted will only compost and break down quickly in an aerobic situation, meaning it needs air, moisture, nitrogen and microorganisms. But a landfill situation is anaerobic. So the bags still take up space and still take a long time to biodegrade. Environmentalist Kevin Wehman says that the Pay-Less Supermarkets initiative not only helps Guam, it helps the world. Banning the distribution of disposable plastic bags is a growing trend among many towns and major cities in the US, as well as other cities, states and even entire countries around the world, he says. In Februrary 2011, American Samoa passed a law making it illegal for stores to pass out plastic bags; the intention being to preserve the environment for future generations. Hawaii s Maui and Kauai counties both enacted plastic bag bans as well. With a combined responsibility given to businesses and consumers to acknowledge their ecological impact and adjust their shopping habits, the bans are proving successful. While corporations often keep their business initiatives as closely guarded secrets, Sgro hopes that other companies play copycat. It wouldn t be the first time that Pay-Less paved the way to Go Green. Their re-usable shopping bags and nickel rebate program was such an immediate hit, other companies took notice and created their own versions. This is an example of the business community regulating itself without the government, says Sgro. Customers can also support the M0B movement at Pay-Less or at any other business that uses plastic bags. If everyone brought reusable bags to stores, the businesses would give out fewer. Often, the customers don t realize the power that they have. It s just a mindset change and it takes time but we are making progress, says Denney. It s stores like Pay- Less and their efforts to promote the use of reusable bags and gradually eliminate them that can have a huge impact. And that s what we like to see. MISSION: ZERO BAGS Beginning Jan. 25 and on designated M0B days, Pay-Less Supermarkets will not distribute ANY plastic bags to their customers. Customers who request brown paper bags will be charged five cents, and all money collected will be donated towards the community Mini-Grant program specifically for schools or nonprofit organizations with a green initiative. From now until July, designated M0B days will fall on the last two Wednesdays of each month. From August to December, EVERY Wednesday is designated as an M0B day. By following this plan, Pay- Less Supermarkets hopes to reduce its plastic distribution by 1.1 million bags this year. M0B LAUNCH On January 25th, Pay-Less will launch the M0B Campaign with many exciting activities and promotions for their customers. Pay- Less reusable bags will be sold at Pay-Less employees showcase the Pay-Less Go Green shopping bags a discounted $.75 per bag, and customers will receive one (1) free reusable bag with a minimum $20 purchase, per transaction. There will be a big exciting sale that day, celebrity baggers will be present at stores and educational tables will be set up with school organizations informing the community about the effects of plastic bags. School organizations such as the UOG Green Army, Academy Green Club, FD Environmental Club, Okkodo, GW Marine Mania, JFK Island Defenders, GCC Eco Warriors and Simon Sanchez Sharks Made will be at different store locations. Visit missionzerobags.com for more details and see how you can join the mission. Help us get to zero! SPONSORS Matson, Capri Sun, Oreo, Frito Lay, Pantene, Pacific Trucking and Mr. Rubbishman. COMMUNITY PARTNERS i*recycle, UOG Green Army, Guam Coastal Management Program, Sea Grant Program, Office of Senator Mabini, Guam EPA, Recycling Association of Guam, Guam Visitors Bureau, Academy Green Club, FD Environmental Club, Okkodu, GW Marine Mania, JFK Island Defenders, GCC Eco Warriors and Simon Sanchez Sharks Made, KUAM, PDN, Guam Super Shopper, KStereo and In-House Creative. PAY-LESS MARKETSCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION LAUNCHES COMMUNITY MINI-GRANT PROGRAM The PayLess Markets Community Foundation (PMCF) will launch its COMMUNITY MINI-GRANT PROGRAM geared to support those organizations that are currently implement GREEN projects in their respective communities. The COMMUNITY MINI- GRANT PROGRAM is being established in conjunction with the PayLess Markets MISSION: ZERO BAGS. The Community Foundation focuses on providing opportunities for our community partners to better serve the community of Guam. PMCF aims to support local organizations efforts in the areas of health, education, social services and the environment. Through this COMMUNITY MINI-GRANT PROGRAM, the Community Foundation s preferences are to support projects that address significant community need especially relating to our island environment and promoting PayLess Goes GREEN efforts. The average grant amount will be contingent upon the funds raised through the PayLess MISSION: ZERO BAGS Project. The customers 5-cents purchase of brown bags during the PayLess MOB Project will be donated to the Community Mini- Grant Fund. The PMCF will be accepting mini-grant proposals for review twice a year. Deadline for proposals will be July 1st and January 1st. Local non-profit communitybased organizations, public/private schools, and units of government agencies are eligible to submit proposals. More details on the COMMUNITY MINI-GRANT PROGRAM will be posted on the Community Foundation website (www.paylessfoundation.com) in February 2012!
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7 Pay-less go green, January 20, 2012
8 Pay-less go green, January 20, 2012