Can you give up plastic bags for a month?  The City of Boise is challenging us all to use fewer single-use plastics during the month of July and choose more sustainable options.  

The City of Boise says on its website that plastic bags account for over 11% of plastic waste, and on average, Americans use around 700 bags per year.

Feel a lil guilty?  Me too.  I try so hard to make them not be single-use, using them as trash can liners and for taking snacks to the pool, but no matter how many times I re-use the plastic grocery store bags they're still going in the trash eventually.  And that's not great for the environment.

Boise is challenging us to give up certain single-use plastics for the month of July, and some of the options are single-use plastic straws, plastic take-out containers, cups, and silverware, and plastic bags. You can officially sign up to take the challenge HERE.

The city also encourages us to talk to businesses about how they're reducing plastics and says "The Boise Plastics Challenge is the first step in starting a conversation and growing awareness around single-use plastics."

Mayor Dave Bieter says, “This challenge is a great way to take our thinking about wasteful use of plastics to a new level and to limit their use on the front end, rather than after the fact. We must start thinking about reducing the amount of plastic we use before we worry about how to reuse and recycle them.”

Use #BoisePlasticsChallenge to share stories.  Now, to find another way to line those trash cans...

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