Beach to Bayou - March 2016

Plastic Free April

What you can do to help keep our beaches and waterways free from plastic debris that harms the entire Gulf ecosystem.
- by Lisa Monti

Tweet

More Current Stories

Using cloth grocery bags and reusable water bottles are just two ways to cut down on plastic consumption.

When a small group of residents set out to eliminate plastic straws, water bottles, grocery bags and takeout containers, the momentum to do more started to build.
 
Organizers Ann Weaver, Carole McKellar, and Kerr Grabowski have seen their early efforts get off to a vigorous start with growing community support.  To read more about why the group formed, read this February Cleaver story.
 
A new Facebook page and website, Plastic Free April, is spreading the word about the effects of single-use plastic on the environment, particularly the oceans. Plans for Plastic Free April are growing to include a Plastic Free Second Saturday Artwalk and educational film showings (like this one at the Bay St. Louis library on April 7th!).

Beach to Bayou
is sponsored by

---

Click here and scroll down for archived Beach to Bayou columns!

That’s just the beginning, organizers say. Elimination is the ultimate goal, not recycling, and promoting alternatives to plastic is also high on the agenda.

To keep the momentum building, everyone is invited to take the Plastic Free April challenge. All you have to do is try to omit all single-use plastic (plastic bottles, straws and shopping bags) for the month of April. Avoiding plastic for a week is OK too, organizers say.

To help you stay plastic free, organizers suggest keeping a log of all the plastic that you use, post photographs of the plastic products on the challenge’s Facebook and Instagram pages and comment on trying to break the plastic habit. You can also turn down those one-time-use plastic straws at restaurants and bring your own takeout containers.
 
Social media is playing a large role in this plastic free community effort. The Plastic Free April Facebook page, which just went up Feb. 20, is adding information about local events plus lists of restaurants that have agreed to join in with the effort.
 
Three film showings of three films — “BagIt,” “Addicted to Plastic,” and “Tapped” — will be available to show how pervasive plastic has become in the world’s environment and ways to curb its use. Other events will include workshops and children’s activities.
 
One high-profile promotion is slated for April 9, when some downtown merchants have agreed to make the Second Saturday Art Walk plastic free.
 
More ideas and plans for events and community involvement are in the works as enthusiasm, information, and participation spread. Organizers feel that Bay St. Louis will lead the way in eliminating plastic and promoting alternatives.
 
www.facebook.com/ plasticfreeapril
Instagram: #plasticfreeapril

---

Recycle Your Printer Ink Cartridges for Charity!

Instead of throwing your used ink and toner cartridges in the trash, take them to S&L Office Supply, 129 Hwy 90 in Waveland.  They'll send them to be refilled or recycled as part of a special program called Carts 4 Kids. The proceeds are donated to CASA to help local children. In 2015, the project raised $3,100 for the charity! 

Read more here!