We grew up with the 3 "R"s: Reading, 'Ritin', and 'Rithmatic. Today's kids are growing up with 3 different "R"s: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.

The Lafayette Consolidated Government is giving residents ways to put the new "R"s into action: access to rain barrels, mulching service, recycling collection and, now, reusable shopping bags.

Call me a Prius huggin' tree driver - I don't care - but I kind of like this big blue marble we call home. I think that we owe it to ourselves, each other, and, especially, future generations, to take care of this planet.

I own reusable shopping bags and I like to use them when I shop for groceries. On occasion, I will allow the clerk to bag my groceries in plastic bags because I use them around the house. But the reusable bags allows me to reduce the amount of waste I contribute to our landfills.

KATC TV3 is reporting that LCG's Environmental Quality Department is handing out reusable shopping bags to local grocers. This week, over 400 of these bags went to stores within the parish.

 

Are they trying to do away with plastic bags? I don't think so. I think that they are just trying to raise awareness and encourage residents to at least try to cut down on waste.

Quoted in the story from KATC was Environmental Quality Manager Bess Foret:

Although plastic bags can be taken back to some stores to be recycled, only a small percentage of people actually recycle them. The majority of them end up in landfills and can take more than 1,000 years to decompose. - Environmental Quality Manager Bess Foret

The bags distributed this week feature an image with 4 "R"s, the extra "R" being "Repair". The bags are inslulated so as to help carry refrigerated groceries and keep them somewhat cool.

Where can you find the bags? KATC TV3 listed the distribution locations as follows:

  • Breaux's Mart, 2600 Moss Street, Lafayette
  • Champagne's Market, 454 Heymann Boulevard, Lafayette
  • Champagne's Market, 701 Veterans Drive, Carencro
  • Little Veron's, 403 Rena Drive, Lafayette
  • Adrien's Supermarket, 3842 West Congress Street, Lafayette
  • Nunu's, 509 Lafayette Street, Youngsville
  • Nunu's, 1410 St. Mary Street, Scott
  • Albertson's, 2678 Johnston Street, Lafayette

Of course, with only 400 or so having been distributed, you might want to act quickly to get yours.

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