Go Plastic-free With B.E.A.C.H.

A local all-volunteer nonprofit group is urging shoppers to take that extra step and bring cloth bags into the produce aisle.

“B.E.A.C.H. helped the first grocery store in Hawaii to go plastic bag-free and supported bills to ban plastic bags at the state and county levels,” said Suzanne Frazer of the Hawaii Kai-based group, noting the campaign has been active since 2007.

Sea turtles ingest plastic bags, she explained, causing a slow, painful death from what they may have mistaken for jellyfish, a favorite food. As it lodges inside them, the plastic causes the turtles to float, so they are unable to dive for food, and thus starve to death.

Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawaii has reusable cotton produce bags – organic, unbleached, cotton draw-string style – as well as reusable shopping bags and other green products available for ordering online. A set of three machine-washable produce bags in three sizes costs $9; five bags cost $15.

For more details, visit b-e-a-c-h.org/support.html.