The Happy Hour

SAN MARCOS — Anna Cummins and Marcus Eriksen, co-founders of environmental organization 5 Gyres, will deliver a public lecture on the growing hazard of plastic pollution Tuesday at Texas State University. The lecture will be at 7 p.m. in Centennial Hall on campus. The event is free and open to the [...]

We love it when fans Instagram and Tweet their latest recipes adorned with one of our straws or mugs.  This week, we've chosen to share with you Simply Straws fan Roseanne Pizarro's (@rose_petalz) Purple Smoothie Recipe with purple kale, blueberries and more. Serves 2 You will need: 2 cups filtered water, [...]

Sonoma County, CA —  Sonoma County's ban on single-use plastic bags goes into effect Friday, but shoppers may face a mixed bag of policies until enforcement begins Sept. 1. Some retailers who publicly supported the ban, such as Oliver's Markets, are embracing the ban and Friday will stop offering customers [...]

NEWBURYPORT — Almost a dozen middle, charter and high school students last night asked city councilors to pass a measure that will ban the use of thin plastic bags used for carrying out purchased items from local stores. In an orchestrated presentation, the youngsters stated that plastic bags can be [...]

Sausalisto, Ca. —  Sausalito residents will have six months to get used to the idea of using their own reusable bags when shopping in town after the city council joined municipalities around the state and voted to ban plastic carryout bags. The ordinance, which should go into effect in September, [...]

San Francisco, Ca. — Bottled water is getting closer to being banned in San Francisco. The environmentally “conscious” City by the Bay is moving closer to banning sales of the plastic water bottles at events held on city property. Legislators there unanimously voted to end the sale and distribution of plastic [...]

FROM ONE CHAMPION TO ANOTHER…   What does it mean to be a champion?  Yes, it means to be the best at something.   But it also means to stand up for something you believe in. Being able to represent my country in the Winter Olympics was an incredible experience. [...]

Santa Fe city officials made late-night, last-minute changes to its new rules on plastic bags last night, but as of today, stores are no longer permitted to offer them at the checkout.   City Council voted around 11 pm to drop a mandated 10-cent paper bag fee to ensure that its [...]

The 1:1 Movement Executive Director, Jonathan Zaidman, speaking at TEDx about the harms of single-use plastic straws. If you don't have ten minutes, here's all you need to know: 1. If you want to live in a cleaner, greener, healthier, and more vibrant community, you are an environmentalist! 2. Every single [...]

MARTINEZ, Calif. – City Council approved the purchase of 2,000 reusable plastic bags as initial outreach and education of a proposed ban on single-use plastic bags in Martinez. The council directed staff at the Nov. 6, 2013, council meeting to draft an ordinance banning single-use plastic bags. Since that time, [...]

Australian cosmetics chain Lush has banned plastic water bottles from every store in New Zealand, including Nelson's Morrison Square branch. The week-long bottle ban is part of a campaign aimed at reducing consumer consumption of "unnecessary" plastic. It will apply to all nine stores plus the chain's Sydney and Auckland [...]

Emilie Clavel from theguardian.com traveled to Rwanda, and here is here experience while being searched on the border: "On a recent trip to Rwanda, my luggage was searched at the border, and the authorities confiscated some of my belongings. No, I wasn't trying to smuggle drugs or weapons. The offenders? Three plastic [...]