Avoiding Single-Use Packaging at Stores

Based in Santa Barbara, Christopher Blaul is a longtime entrepreneur who guides CB Paint & Decor, Inc., where he provides custom painting solutions. Christopher Blaul also launched Hello Bag, a unique product that provides a sturdy portable frame for paper bags that allows them to have a “second life” around the home and in the garden.

One of the aims of Hello Bag is reducing people’s dependence on plastic. This goal is reinforced each year with “Plastic Free July,” a global movement that encourages people to take small individual steps for the planet.

There are many ways of doing this, starting with taking a reusable coffee cup to your local coffee shop and avoiding single-use takeaway cups. Single-use cups incorporate paper and plastic tops and are often not made from recycled materials. Whether the reusable cups people bring with them are specially made for the purpose or simply a jar, mug, or ceramic container from home, this simple daily step can have a major impact over time.

Similarly, when in the grocery store or supermarket, it is a good practice to avoid purchasing pre-packaged vegetables and fruit. While purchasing items that are already assembled in plastic trays or wrapped in plastic can be convenient, it creates a major waste issue. The solution is to seek out loose produce in the store or at the farmer’s market. Furthermore, instead of using store-provided plastic single-use bags, bring reusable, lightweight produce bags with you. This small investment of time and energy will substantially reduce waste in the long run.

Composting with Hello Bags

Christopher Blaul is the owner of Hello Bag, a California-based firm named after its product. The Hello Bag is a frame that can be placed inside paper grocery bags to enable reuse. Through Hello Bag, Christopher Blaul gives paper bags a second life by being used for other purposes such as composting.

Composting is converting organic waste into fertilizer by allowing the waste to decompose. The resulting decomposed organic material is known as compost. It is so rich in nutrients for gardening and agricultural purposes that farmers refer to compost as black gold.

Putting a Hello Bag frame into a brown paper bag allows it to stand upright, making it convenient to use for home composting purposes. For those who do not have or want to allocate the space for a larger compost bin, the brown bag and Hello Bag combination can function as a mini-compost heap.

With a bag in hand, one can gather organic material from two areas. First is from the garden, putting in dead leaves and grass and other organic garden waste into the bag. The other place is from the kitchen, putting in organic waste from the cooking process into the bag. However, leftovers should not be used for compost.

Once the organic material has been gathered, simply remove the Hello Bag frame and bury the brown bag in the ground, where it will decompose and turn to compost.

For more on composting with Hello Bags please see this article: www.hello-bag.com/blogs/blog/our-guide-to-easy-composting-using-paper-bags.