"A Day Without a Bag" program in Los Angeles

In Southern California, Heal the Bay -- an environmental group -- has organized the second annual "A Day Without a Bag" for Thursday, Dec. 18. The site says

The event’s short-term goal is to educate Southland shoppers to adopt more sustainable practices during the holidays and coming year. The event’s long-term goal is to reduce the use of single-use plastic bags throughout California by empowering shoppers, and the community at large, to take simple and direct actions to eliminate unsightly debris and save taxpayer dollars.

More than 6 billion plastic bags are used in L.A. County each year. Disposable bags cost our fiscally strained cities up to 17 cents per bag for disposal (this does not even include the environmental costs). Plastic bags are made from fossil fuels. Americans use over 380 billion bags every year, throwing away this precious, non-renewable resource.

I've been reusing paper bags for months and almost have demolished my supply. My car always has a couple paper bags for groceries, and it also holds a couple fabric bags now -- one from my sister's favorite gummy candy store in Berlin and one from ReusableSax.com, which sells the stylish bags at a discounted price at the Irvine farmers market on Saturday mornings. (I like the retro collection, right.)

Does your community have a program similar to "A Day Without a Bag"?