Ikea is also selling reusable bags (Ikea)

Pay more or plastic (Ikea)

Part of the Hill experience is the dining hall. With a little help from my scholarship, I’ve been on the meal plan for my four years here. My daily routine consists of two or three on-the-go Express
meals saddled into staple “Thank You Very Much” plastic bags. I’ve used the excess bags, as trash cans and first responders in keeping the Hill draft in check.

But Ikea’s creative. Last week, href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSN2131088920070221?src=022107_1433_ARTICLE_PROMO_also_on_reuters&pageNumber=1"="_blank"> Ikea announced it will expand its plastic bag reduction program to the United States. They’ll charge five cents fora plastic bag, with the option of purchasing their reusable, biodegradable “Big Blue Bags”. No, their accountants aren’t failed Whartonites, the program isn’t designed to make money. The ultimate goal is deterring people from using bags they don’t need, thereby reducing excess waste from plastic bags. The program has seen incredible success in Europe. According to Ikea’s press release , plastic bag usage has decreased 97 percent, falling from 32 million to 900,000 bags in one year. On March 15, they will initiate their program in American stores, projecting a 50%
reduction in the 70 million bags currently given out.

Kevin Levy, Director of the Penn Environmental Group, is enthusiastic about the program. He wrote in an e-mail interview that, “Ikea’s incorporation of policies that will discourage the use of plastic bags is a positive step towards reducing waste…PEG would like to encourage businesses to follow Ikea’s model in creating environmentally friendly practices that are also cost effective.”

And we should look to businesses on campus to take the lead. General Manager of Penn Dining Services, John Cipollini, is familiar with the program, noting “It’s a pretty cool idea.” Although unable to estimate the usage of plastic bags by Penn Dining customers, he emphasized “The idea of reducing plastic usage is a good one.”

We’ve seen through their commitment to local food products and nutrition, Penn Dining and Aramark value socially conscious programs.

Granted, plastic bags may not be as weighty an issue compared tolarger environmental concerns. However, addressing it would add breadth to Penn’s legacy of preserving and driving local conservation
efforts.

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