Terra Organica, an all-organic health food store located in Bellingham’s Public Market, announced April 11 it plans to stop providing plastic carryout bags to its customers as part of the Bag it Bellingham initiative.
“We are hoping that other stores besides us will follow suit,” said Stephen Trinkaus, owner and general manager of Terra Organica. “Every single aspect of the industrial institution is harming the environment in some way. This is just one of the steps on the journey of reforming those practices.”
The initiative is being proposed to the City Council and is a positive step toward reducing excess waste in Bellingham, Trinkaus said in a press release.
In addition to banning plastic bags in city limits, Bellingham’s plan would include a 5-cent charge on paper bags. Earlier bans on plastic bags in other cities have not included the fee, but supporters of Bag It Bellingham believe this addition will encourage shoppers to bring their own bags.
Terra Organica will be implementing the charge for paper bags. While the 5 cents will not cover the store’s cost of providing paper bags, Trinkaus said the movement away from plastic use is worth it.
He said he hopes to implement the policy once the store uses up its last box of plastic bags.
Trinkaus said it might take up to a month for them to completely run out of bags since many of the store’s patrons already use reusable bags.
