Beginning on May 1st, major supermarkets and convenience stores in Sámara will no longer supply shoppers with free plastic shopping bags to carry their purchases. The storeowner’s union for a cleaner Sámara was organized by the Alianza Verde, the organization also responsible for several other local environmental efforts such as beach clean ups, trash receptacle and “Eco-Tico” signage placement all around town, as covered in previous VON issues.

From now on Super Samara, Super La Amistad, Super San Rafael, Super Olas, Super El Delfin, Super La Iguana Verde y Abastecedor Caesa will charge 100 colones for each plastic bag carried out of the store in an effort to clean the city, increase tourism, and maintain the natural environment for future generations. The Alianza Verde has provided reusable cloth bags for sale at the above locations for 1.500 colones, which provide an inexpensive and practical alternative to the environmentally hazardous plastic bags littering Sámara’s streets and beach.

Alianza Verde founder Dixie Aragon told VON “we hope that the citizens of Sámara will help us to push all the other business such as the hardware stores, bakeries and restaurants to completely eliminate plastic bags in town”. She also informed us that “Alianza Verde has already communicated with Mega Super and Maxi Bodega in Nicoya to start a campaign to eliminate plastic bags” there as well. She says “little by little we are reaching our goal of eliminating the plastic bag in all Guanacaste businesses and with the help of the citizens with will all be a success.”

For more information on this and other Alianza Verde projects visit www.alianzaverde.com