Valentines to Mother Earth

Feb 2012: After a proposal banning single-use plastic bags loses in Oregon’s legislature by one vote, Eugene’s City Council agrees to vote on a similar ban in 2012. Here, 110 plastic grocery bags are attached to trees with an invitation to “Send a Valentine to Mother Earth.” The valentine reads:

“Dear Mother Earth: I pledge to do my best to use cloth bags instead of single-use plastic (or paper) and to support a plastic bag ban to help clean your oceans and landscapes. Love, (signature).”
Information is offered about plastic’s negative impact, particularly on marine life. Participants sign the pledge, “mail” it in the red mailbox, and take a free cloth bag, courtesy of local natural foods stores. Inside the bag is a surprise “thank you” Valentine from Mother Earth. We tie each pledge to a branch and remove one plastic bag. Over 12 days, we give away 70 cloth bags and watch a red wave of 117 pledges sweep aside the plastic.