46°
UPDATE: The shipment of the reusable bags that were to be given away as part of the city's Reusable Bag Initiative has been delayed, so the city will not be able to have the giveaway this Thursday through Sunday as planned. The Mayor's office expects to receive the bags by Oct. 10 and will reschedule the giveaway for some time in October.
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. Residents will get a free re-usable bag with a logo designed by White Plains High School student Max Crawley if they shop Thursday through Sunday at one of the citys five retail partners for its Reusable Shopping Bag Initiative.
The initiative is part of the city's effort to encourage all of its residents to use reusable shopping bags instead of plastic bags, which are used for an average of 12 minutes and take up to 1,000 years to degrade in landfills, if they break down at all, according to a city press release. A half-million plastic bags are used every minute in the United States.
White Plains retailers, including ShopRite, Stop & Shop, Target, Wal-Mart and Whole Foods, met with the city last fall and developed the initiative. The city launched a reusable bag design contest among White Plains High School students, which Crawley won in May.
Now, that design has been printed on thousands of reusable bags to be distributed at city events and participating retailers.
I predict that these bags will be the must-have item of the season for our residents, Mayor Thomas Roach said in a statement. Not only does the design convey the importance of using reusable shopping bags, it conveys White Plains pride as well.
Councilwoman Milagros Lecuona is the chair of the Citys Sustainability and Environmental Enhancement Committee (SEEC).
Reducing the usage of plastic bags has been one of SEECs goals for a long time and this Reusable Shopping Bag Education & Awareness Initiative is in perfect alignment with that mission, she said in a statement.
Click here to follow Daily Voice White Plains and receive free news updates.
