Charlestown’s Reusable Tote Bags Make a Great Christmas Gift

During the summer of 2016, the Charlestown Town Council began to distribute reusable tote bags in an effort to reduce single-use plastic waste. The bags, which are made of jute, have proven hugely popular and would make a great gift. They can be purchased at Town Hall.

Single-use plastic bags, the bags we are given to carry our purchases from a store, are a major source of plastic pollution, a health hazard to aquatic animals and an eyesore as litter along our roadways.

Former Town Councilor George Tremblay spearheaded this green initiative. According to George, “Statistics on the environmental impact of disposable plastic can overwhelm our capacity to comprehend. Eight million tons of discarded plastic finds its way to the world’s oceans each year, a rate at which plastic waste will outweigh fish by 2050. Unfavorable economics limits recycling of these bags to only 5 percent.”

The 2016 Charlestown Town Council decided to ban single-use plastic bags from municipal properties, and began  a program to distribute reusable tote bags to discourage domestic consumption of single-use plastic bags.

Credit for the logo belongs to Steve McCandless, Charlestown’s GIS officer. Steve manipulated a photograph of a sailboat on Ninigret Pond to create the logo that appears on the bag, and the town copyrighted the result.

While the original objective was to reduce plastic waste by offering a substitute made from natural fiber, the end result effectively advertises Charlestown as a haven for summer fun.

The bags are available for sale at a very modest price.