CORE is working with the City of Aspen's Canary Initiative and Telluride's Sheep Mountain Alliance on a program to encourage Aspen's residents and visitors to shop exclusively with reusable bags.

Shopping with reusable bags promotes a number of positive environmental practices including:

1. Reducing oil consumption
2. Reducing energy use (manufacturing, transportation and disposal)
3. Reducing public trash pollution
4. Reducing waste disposal costs
5. Reducing trees cut down for use in paper bags
6. Reducing your personal carbon footprint (CO₂ emissions)
7. Promoting wildlife, particularly marine, welfare
8. Supporting a green industry
9. Supporting sustainable business practices

As part of this initiative CORE is collecting support for a City of Aspen program to permanently and significantly reduce disposable bag consumption.  Community input and feedback will be integral to the success of this initiative.   Below are a two short outlines of current programs, a few links for further reading and a petition to offer your support and voice your comments.  

CORE is pleased to announce the 2009 Colorado Association of Ski Towns (CAST) Reusable Bag Challenge.  Thirty-one communities will be taking part in the challenge this year, a big step up from last year's two-town Aspen-Telluride Challenge.  The gist of the program is that in each of the participating communities, customers of participating stores who bring in their own bags will be tallied.  At the end of the challenge period--September 1, 2009--the tallies will be added up and the town with the highest per capita bag reuse rate will win.  What will they win?  Alpine Bank and PCL Construction are each sponsoring the contest with a $5,000 grant to go towards a solar electric system at a public school for the winning community.  That's $10,000 total, plus Independent Power Systems will install the system for free.  So make sure to always bring your bags shopping with you!

The goal of the program is to raise awareness regarding the benefits of shopping with reusable bags and to educate citizens on the negative effects of disposable bags, particularly plastic bags. 

See the full press release here.

For more information please contact:

Katherine Dart                or                    David Allen

CORE, Aspen                                         Sheep Mountain Alliance, Telluride

970.920.0064                                         970.728.3729

CORE staff have also been working with Aspen High School's Energy Club on the creation and marketing of an ultra-energy efficient reusable bag. 

This program is aimed at providing a locally designed, regionally produced and low cost bag to Aspen's visitors.  Aspen realizes that engaging the tourist community will be imperative in reducing bag consumption.  And with this in mind, CORE and AHS Energy Club have been successful in placing bags in tourist hotspots such as the St. Regis, the Meadows, Sky, as well as at City and County buildings and at the high school.  All proceeds from bag sales benefit Aspen High School.

This program provides a number of benefits to Aspen High School and the local community including:

• Real world experience for the students
• Environmental/energy education and awareness
• Community and student engagement
• A new revenue source for the high school
  • All funds generated from the program will go directly back to Aspen High School

• Plastic Bag Facts
• Plastic Bag PowerPoint Presentation
• Ireland's Success, BBC News Article
• Ireland's Success, New York Times Article