New Way to Reduce Plastic Bag Use: Bagito Reusable Can Liners for Recyclables and Non-wet Trash

A New Way to Reduce Your Plastic Bag Use and Help Improve the Waste Stream in Our Community!

The Problem: While most of us are reusing grocery bags, many households are still using plastic bags for their recycling materials and trash, which creates major problems in the waste diversion stream. The bags are torn open by our local waste processors, who separate out any recyclable items. Not only can the thin, plastic film from the torn open bags cause issues for the waste separation and diversion process at the processors, it remains in the landfill for hundreds of years.

The Solution: After years of research, the local, Reusable Solutions Group (RSG), has developed Bagito Reusable Liners for use in your recycling containers, non-wet trash cans, and for your yard waste. The liners are made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic, treated with an anti-microbial and are made to last for 1,000s of uses. The liners will be available for sale at New Leaf starting in September. Using a hybrid business model, Bagito donates 100% of its profits from each item sold to its sister non-profit, Power2Sustain, for environmental literacy programs for youth.

How to Use the Reusable Liners: The liners are used like plastic trash bags for use in the kitchen, bedroom and bath for non-wet trash and recyclables, and for yard waste, but they are reused. You carry the liner to the bins that get picked up by processors, or a dumpster, empty the liner, and then replace it in your trash or recycling can. Bags can be washed if needed.

RSG - New Leaf Partnership: RSG is partnering with New Leaf Community Markets to introduce the community to their innovative reusable liners at educational events in September. “We asked New Leaf to partner with us because they are one of our local leaders in environmental stewardship. Just one example, their Envirotoken program to reduce plastic bag use, has motivated New Leaf customer to reuse bags over 5 million times, and generated over $446,889 which was donated to local environmental groups,” said Mitch Barlas, founder, Reusable Solutions Group.

Attend a “Talking Trash” Educational Event
New Leaf will host free two events where you can learn about the trash diversion process in the county, what else they can be recycling, and see the new Bagito Reusable Liners which will be available for sale at New Leaf in different sizes. Partnering with RSG for this event are county trash/recycling processors: GreenWaste Recovery Inc. and the City of Santa Cruz, and Save Our Shores, who for over 30 years, has been leading efforts to protect and preserve the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Event dates are:
Sept 6, 11 am – 3 pm, New Leaf Community Market, 1101 Fair Ave, Santa Cruz
Sept 13, 11 am – 3 pm, New Leaf Community Market, 1210 41st Ave, Capitola

Reusable Liners Applauded by GreenWaste and Save Our Shores

“Using Bagito Reusable Liners will encourage waste generators to put their materials into the collection containers loose, which greatly improves our ability to efficiently sort the recyclables and helps increase overall recycling rates,” said Emily Hanson, Director of Business Development and Communications for GreenWaste Recovery, the recyclable materials processor for most of Santa Cruz County. Laura Kasa, director of Save Our Shores said, “We look forward to joining “We look forward to joining Reusable Solutions Group, our partner New Leaf and our local jurisdictions for an event to help educate the public about effective recycling and waste reduction efforts. New Leaf shoppers are among the most environmentally conscious which is why we think they will be excited to learn about these new trash can liners.”

Proceeds from Reusable Liners Support Environmental Literacy Program

All of the net proceeds from the sale of Bagito-branded products go to support an environmental literacy education program free of charge for K-12 in Santa Cruz County and other areas. The program, which is aligned to the new Common Core Content Standards, was created by elementary school teachers led by former teacher and school principal Mitch Barlas, the founder of Reusable Solutions Group and resident of Santa Cruz. As of spring 2014, over 20,000 students in California and New York have learned key concepts in environmental stewardship and sustainability and have been empowered to take personal responsibility for their natural world.

For more information about the events or the Bagito Reusable Liners contact Michael Logue at Reusable Solutions Group at 831-295-3909 or Michael@power2sustain.org. For more information about Reusable Solutions Group, visit www.power2sustain.org. For more information about New Leaf Community Markets, visit www.newleaf.com.