TRAY 6 Umbrellas and More

TRAY6 calls the great state of California home. We’re proud of the efforts that California has undergone to make our communities & state a great place for both our fans and the environment. One community in particular has just made headlines – Manhattan Beach. They have just been granted the approval to officially ban plastic bags from their shops & stores. As of January 14, 2012 – plastic bags are officially being forced out of this chic California beach community. A quote from the City of Manhattan Beach’s website reads;

“As a first step toward reducing single-bag use, the Manhattan Beach City Council passed an ordinance banning the distribution of plastic bags at the point-of-sale for all retail establishments in Manhattan Beach in July 2008. After being on hold for a few years due to a lawsuit brought by the “Save the Plastic Bag Coalition,” the City’s plastic bag ordinance will begin implementation on January 14, 2012.”

Stores in the community will have until April 14th, 2012 before the ban is officially in place to allow for transition. Shop owners are asked to encourage their patrons to bring their own reusable shoppers for purchases.

Why the ban the plastic bag all together? Research conducted by the City of Manhattan Beach was presented as follows;

“According to the California Integrated Waste Management Board, approximately 6 billion plastic bags are consumed in Los Angeles County each year. That means that the average Los Angeles County resident takes home 600 plastic bags in one year.  According to the US EPA annual Municipal Solid Waste Report (MSW) from 2005, less than 1% of plastic bags are recycled in the United States. And, since plastic bags are lightweight and easily caught in the wind, they make up a significant amount of the litter found in storm drains that lead directly to the beach and ocean.”

Wow! Over 600 bags? Yikes! It sure makes one rethink their whole shopping experience. Thankfully the successful rise of popularity in reusable shoppers is making them easy to come by and fans are offered more and more designs and selections to customize their shopping needs! Have you checked out our selection of reusable shoppers on TRAY6.com?

What are your thoughts on the plastic bag ban? Do you use reusable shoppers? Do you think the ban will catch on in your hometown?

During this time of year a lot of thought goes into giving back. There’s someone we need to keep in mind this season; Mother Earth. Without her, we wouldn’t have such a wonderful place to celebrate the holidays. So we’re ready to offer up some GREEN holiday tips to help everyone do their part in reducing, reusing and recycling. If everyone just partakes in one or two of these tips, we’ll all make an impact!

1. Carpool: There are often a ton of holiday festivities happening around this time of year, whether it’s a work party, family get together or even just a group of friends gathering for a night out on the town. Think  about carpooling this season. Reducing the amount of diesel and fuel emissions going into the atmosphere helps everyone! Going to a lot of the same shin-digs as your friends or family? Create a carpool roster so everyone has a chance to drive!

2. Reusable Gift Wrapping: Every year tons of paper and gift bags are thrown out after they unearth the goodies that are inside…Yikes! This year, why not use a gift wrap that can be reused? Such a reusable shopping bag! Not only are they great for placing gifts inside, they’re a gift within themselves. They also allow the recipient to cut down on using plastic bags when they’re out shopping. Plus it saves you the hassle of measuring and taping and cutting all that wrapping paper. Reusable shopping bags come in some many fun and colorful colors now adays you’ll be sure to find just the right one for the recipient you have in mind!

3. E-cycle: Getting a lot of nifty new gadgets this season? Are they to replace some of your more out of date, no longer functional electronics? Instead of just tossing those out of date iPods or laptops or cellphones – consider e-cycling. The EPA reports that in 2005 approximately 2 million tons of e-waste were generated in the United States, of which around a mere 350,000 tons were recycled. Sites like Buymytronics.com offer the chance for you to cash-in while e-cycling. They’ll buy back certain generations of electronic goodies and if they’re no longer working or worth anything, you can still send them off for recycling (and they’ll pay for shipping)! It’s a better alternative than just tossing it out.  So let’s keep all those old electronics out of the landfills this holiday season.