Daughter of Plastic Bag Inventor Creates a 'National Call to Action' to Eliminate Disposables: USA Today Features Kristen Brown and the MY ECO School Reuse Challenge

NEW YORK, Dec. 6, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- MY ECO creator, Kristen Brown, was featured in USA Today's Life section this week. The article, "Mama's Got Brand New Bag" tells the story of a family's generational shift from paper- to plastic- to reusable. Brown's late father, Gordon Dancy, invented the disposable plastic grocery sack, and she now has made it her mission is to eliminate them entirely.

Brown, a consultant for the US EPA, has spent her career creating strategies for cities on how to reduce waste, and changing behavior is her specialty. This October, she turned her efforts to the supermarket industry in the MY ECO School Reuse Challenge.  It's a collaborative challenge that pairs schools with local grocery stores to ignite behavior change from disposable plastic and paper bags towards reuse. Brown debuted the School Reuse Challenge in NJ schools, partnering Kings Super Markets and nearly 20,000 students.

"Staring with the next generation of shoppers, we need to actively promote change from the bottom up," say Brown. "In the next 5 years, it is our goal is to create partnerships between 4,000 stores and 10 million students."

Brown says that if 100 families reuse their bags each week for one year, a school can prevent 100,000 disposable plastic bags from entering the waste stream. Since Americans produce so much waste, one simple step like reusing a bag each week can make a major difference.  

The Challenge uses the MY ECO Shopping bag system, a 4-in-1 reusable bag system, as a vehicle for change. Students sell the System as a fundraiser for their school. Their store partner rewards the families each time they use the system through a special bag code. It's a winning strategy for the students, the store, and the community.  Schools can find information on how to register their school at www.getmyeco.com.

To celebrate, MY ECO is offering customers a $5.00 discount on MY ECO Shopping Bag System when they enter the PROMO: USA.  Brown says the discount is only for a limited time, but her System diverts plastic and paper bags in landfills that last forever.

SOURCE MY ECO