Conservation Station: Reuse or Lose!

Back in September, I posted a plea for Disney to install some recycling bins for guests to dispose their water bottles. And they (sort of) did! While I highly doubt that action was due to my humble blog, let's have a round of high fives for saving the earth (insert high fives).

Friends and fellow Earth-dwellers, there is still more to do. Everyone else is jumping on the bandwagon, so why hasn't Disney? You know what I'm talking about - they're trendy, they're eco-friendly, they're practical - they're reusable bags.

If we go with the estimate that 17 million people visited the Magic Kingdom last year, we're talking 46,575 people per day. Let's break that number down to 11, 464 families of four. And let's assume that each family, during one day in the Magic Kingdom, buys stuff in 2 seperate gift shops (that's a pretty conservative estimate). That means 23,287 plastic bags walk out of the park after the fireworks. And that's only one Disney park. Seems like a huge waste, no?

This number could be greatly reduced if Disney were to offer guests a reusable tote bag (one that rolls/folds for storage would be extra great) to buy at the beginning of the day/trip to keep their purchases in during their stay. A good model for this would be the reusable mugs at the Disney Resorts. Guests shell out $20 for a mug, but they get unlimited refills on soda/coffee/hot chocolate during their time there. It ends up being cost effective for the guest, and the Earth is happier because guests aren't burning through plastic and paper cups. And Disney is REALLY happy because they've convinced each guest to buy a plastic mug for $20, and not having to supply individual plastic and paper cups cuts down on their overhead costs.

Here's what I propose: offer guests a fun, branded reusable Disney tote for $5 at all Disney parks and resorts. Guests get an extra souvenir from their trip, Disney keeps the cash and doesn't have to shell out the extra $$$ to have all those plastic bags made up. But who will pay $5 for a bag when they can have all the plastic ones they want for free, you ask? Well, New York City recently imposed a plastic bag fee that charges customers 6 cents for every bag needed at the register. Autocratic, maybe, but it works:

"Just a few weeks after Ireland adopted a similar, though much heftier tax in 2002 — charging shoppers 33 cents a bag — plastic bag use dropped 94 percent, and within a year, nearly everyone in that country had purchased reusable cloth bags."

Plus, Disney would profit from the fee AND the sale of the reusable totes. Take that, economy!

Inviting Disney guests to come together and do their part to help the planet? I like to think that's something Walt would have gotten behind. Let's practice "Living with the Land" and protect our "Spaceship Earth" so the "Animal Kingdom" has a planet to live on, shall we?