'Bag It' film showing impacts of plastic bag use to be screened April 1 on campus

The Western Washington University Associated Students Environmental Center and Bag It Bellingham are screening the award-winning environmental documentary "Bag It" at 7 p.m. April 1 in the Performing Arts Center on campus.

"Bag It" follows everyman Jeb Berrier as he tries to make sense of the world's dependence on plastic bags. Although his quest starts out small, Jeb soon learns that the problem extends past landfills to oceans, rivers and, ultimately, human health.

"The average American uses roughly 500 plastic bags each year, for about 12 minutes each," says Bag It Bellingham's Jill MacIntyre Witt in a press release. "This single-use mentality has led to the formation of a floating island of plastic debris in the Pacific Ocean more than twice the size of Texas."

The film explores the various ways that the use of plastic threatens waterways, marine life and human health. Two of the most common plastic additives are endocrine disruptors, which have been linked to cancer, diabetes, autism, attention deficit disorder, obesity and infertility, MacIntyre Witt says.

The April 1 screening is part of Bag It’s campaign to urge 25 towns across the country to become “Bag It Towns” by the end of 2011. Doing so would require Bellingham to ban plastic bag use voluntarily or via ordinance and/or to pass an ordinance that places a small charge on single-use disposable bags. Cities such Washington, D.C. and San Francisco already have implemented similar policies to curb their plastic use.

The cost for admission to the film is $7  for adults and $3 for students, senior citizens and children. The event is open to the public. Parking lots 14G and 11G have been reserved for the event; parking in those lots is $1 per hour.

The screening kicks off a month of plastic pollution awareness events in the community. Bellingham Mayor Dan Pike will announce that the city of Bellingham officially declares April "Plastic Pollution Reduction Month."

Co-sponsors of the film screening include Surfrider Foundation, Sierra Club, WWU Office of Sustainability, Community
Food Co-op and RE Sources for Sustainable Communities. Tickets are available for purchase in advance at Community Food Co-op, Village Books, PAC box office and online at http://www.tickets.wwu.edu/.

For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/bagitbellingham or contact Jill MacIntyre Witt at (360) 201-3093.