Politics & Government

Town Gives Away 1,000 Tote Bags; Residents Pledge to Recycle

Southampton gave out free tote bags on Sunday at area beaches.

As part of its ongoing effort to increasing recycling among residents, the town of Southampton's  gave away 1,000 reusable canvas tote bags at area beaches on Saturday. 

During the event, residents who received a bag, which was funded in part by the , were asked to sign a pledge stating that they will reduce, reuse, and recycle when it comes to plastic bags.

“The day was a great success,” said Councilwoman Christine Preston Scalera, the Town Board’s co-liaison to the group. “We had nearly 600 people sign the pledge."

Find out what's happening in Westhampton-Hampton Bayswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Councilman Chris Nuzzi, the task force’s other liaison, concurred and said, "Our population can swell by more than double in the summer so we felt it was important to bring awareness about our reduction and recycling efforts to visitors as well as year-round residents and the beaches provided a great venue to do just that."

Nuzzi and Scalera have a goal to increase the recycling rate of plastic bags in Southampton by 15 percent in the first year. If successful, they say they plan to ramp up their efforts. 

Find out what's happening in Westhampton-Hampton Bayswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 “We’ve had a great response so far and are excited to continue to pursue our goals with the hope of eventually eliminating single-use plastic bags from our environment and landfills,” said Scalera.

Have you signed the pledge yet? Let us know in the comment section below.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here