Learning to Live Without Plastic Bags

While Santa Monica's has been in effect since March 3, enforcement of the ban began Thursday. Also starting Thursday, businesses must charge consumers at least 10 cents per paper bag.

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In the coming weeks and months, Santa Monicans will be transitioning to the new guidelines. Many will be learning for the first time how to live without single-use bags, especially plastic ones.

Santa Monica Patch recently caught up with Andy Keller, president of reusable-bag company ChicoBag, to ask him for tips on how people can make the transition away from single-use bags.

"Every little step helps, but do what feels good and is easy," he said. "Don't be too hard on yourself. Just be conscious."

Here are some tips from Keller on how to move away from relying upon single-use bags:

1. Cold turkey isn't necessary. The ban and fee don't mean that you have to stop using single-use bags altogether, especially not right away. Most people already have a stockpile of plastic and paper bags under their sink, for example. And don't forget that restaurants will still provide plastic bags for certain types of take-home food, and there will be plastic bags available in the produce sections of grocery stores.

If a gradual transition seems more reasonable, start becoming acquainted with new measures, such as reusing trash-can liners. "Carry the trash can out to the bin and dump it, but keep the liner in there," Keller suggested. Don't feel the need to replace the liner every time.

2. Be more resourceful. Bread bags, milk cartons, potato-chip bags and other nonrecyclable items can be easily reconfigured as containers for goopy household materials and even pet waste. Maximize the packaging that you would normally throw away. As Keller noted, there's an added benefit to putting waste into milk cartons and other containers: It will often cut down on the odors in your garbage can. Also, make use of what's already in there: Bathroom trash cans often get lined with toiler paper, so a liner really isn't necessary, according to Keller.

3. Who needs the phone book anyway? The phone book is another oft-discarded item that can be of use when reconfigured. "I take three or four pages out of the phone book, crumple them up and put them at the bottom of the can," said Keller, who doesn't use trash-can liners (or the phone book).

4. Apply some elbow grease. Doing without trash-can liners might mean for a messier bin (especially if you don't follow tips 2 and 3). If that's the case, get into the habit of rinsing it out regularly. "Worst-case scenario, I spray some water in my can, use an old sponge, give it a whirl and rinse it out," Keller said. Adding a teaspoon of baking soda can even eliminate the need for scrubbing. Chances are your bin could use a wash anyway.

5. Dust off the ol' pooper-scooper. If you don't like the idea of reusing an empty potato-chip bag or milk carton to pick up your animal's waste, don't forget about the pooper-scooper you might have buried in the garage. "If you're in your backyard, that's all you need," Keller said.

6. Get inventive. Keller knows someone who takes a more creative approach to avoiding multiple animal-waste-disposal trips from the backyard to the trash can. The person cuts out the bottom of a small trash can, digs a hole in their backyard, puts the can in the hole and places a lid on top. When the can gets full, the person removes the can, fills the hole with dirt, and then repeats the process elsewhere in their yard. Viola.

7. Don't freak out. "There's usually a lot of screaming before the ban goes into place, like Chicken Little, but then the ban happens and everyone adapts," Keller said.

Take it all in stride—and remember that every little bit counts.

For more on ChicoBag, check out the company's Web site, Twitter page and Facebook page.

More on the plastic-bag ban:

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