Lawrence is now a plastic bag-free city! Ordinance 9996 went into effect on March 1, and it prohibits businesses from distributing disposable, single-use plastic bags to customers at point of sale.
The City of Lawrence celebrated this new policy with Bag Bash, an event held at the Lawrence Public Library, where residents could decorate reusable tote bags from scratch, donate their gently used ones, and interact with local non-profits. This episode gives an inside look at the event and tips on how to switch to reusable bags. You’ll hear from the leaders of Coneflower Consulting — Sarah Bishop, CEO, and Kathryn Clark, director of communications and strategic development — about working with the City of Lawrence to promote the policy and organize the event.
Ordinance 9996 offers an array of benefits for the environment. Residents in Lawrence have used and discarded over 29 million single-use plastic bags every year. By promoting sustainable alternatives like reusable bags, the community is moving away from the fossil fuels it takes to produce plastic bags and keeping them out of circulation, where they can put wildlife at risk and pollute the air with microplastics.
Get more details on Ordinance 9996, like what types of bags are prohibited, at plasticfreelawrence.org.
