CARTM is hosting a free screening of the award-winning environmental documentary Bag It at NCRD Theatre, 36155 9th Street in Nehalem on Saturday, January 28 at 7 p.m.
Bag It follows “everyman” Jeb Berrier as he tries to make sense of our dependence on plastic bags. Although his quest starts out small, Jeb soon learns that the problem extends past landfills to oceans, rivers and ultimately human health. Jeb will be on hand following the screening to answer questions.
The average American uses about 500 plastic bags each year, for about twelve minutes each. This single-use mentality has led to the formation of a floating island of plastic debris in the Pacific Ocean more than twice the size of Texas.
The film explores these issues and identifies how our daily reliance on plastic threatens not only waterways and marine life, but human health, too. Two of the most common plastic additives are endocrine disruptors, which have been shown to link to cancer, diabetes, autism, attention deficit disorder, obesity and infertility.
The screening in Nehalem is part of Bag It’s campaign to urge towns across the country to become “Bag It Towns”. Doing so would require the community to eliminate plastic bag use voluntarily or via ordinance and/or to pass an ordinance that places a small charge on single-use disposable plastic bags. Cities including Seattle, Washington, DC and San Francisco, as well as Hawaii, Ireland, Italy and China have already implemented similar policies to curb their plastic use.
CARTM recognizes the importance of reducing single-use plastic use for the safety of our community and environment. Thanks to the concerted efforts of committed citizens, CARTM envisions a community that takes action to reduce waste, takes responsibility for the waste it generates, and recovers value from all materials that pass through our waste-shed. CARTM is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. For more information, www.cartm.org.
This event is free and open to the public.
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