A Cortez Resident Reduces Reliance on Plastic Bags by Providing Reusable Options | LOR Foundation
Complete Environment

A Cortez Resident Reduces Reliance on Plastic Bags by Providing Reusable Options

Cortez
  • Local Champion: a cortez resident
  • Date Funded: September 30, 2021
  • Grant Amount: $13,410

After Colorado State House Bill 21-1162 created a ban on single-use plastic bags by 2023, one local Cortez resident realized how significant a problem they were: More than 30,000 plastic bags are provided through local stores in the Cortez area every day. She also knew that Cortez residents are hesitant to change their behavior without understanding why. So she decided to work with local retailers and nonprofits to distribute free reusable, washable, large capacity sacks and produce sacks to low-income individuals—and to build support for the effort by involving local students in the creation of multilingual educational materials about the benefits of reusable bags.

This project is fiscally sponsored by Onward! A Legacy Foundation. 

Impact

After seeing the initial impact, store managers at Walmart, Safeway, and City Market donated hundreds more reusable bags to the cause and the City of Cortez is now working on additional forms of outreach to educate community members about House Bill 21-1162.

In The News

SUP2sack thanks LOR Foundation, retail stores and volunteers (Cortez Journal)
Cortez urged to stop using single-use plastic bags (Durango Herald)

Contact our community officer in Cortez. Meet Nicci Crowley
More Environment Solutions
Environment / Lander Lander Community Gains Access to Free Composting Classes
Local Champion:
Pushroot Community Garden
Date funded:
October 21, 2024
Grant Amount:
$3,000
Environment / Cortez Tracking Tools Help Cortez’s K-9 Teams Find Missing People
Local Champion:
K-9 Search and Rescue
Date funded:
October 7, 2024
Grant Amount:
$9,150
Environment / Monte Vista Greenhouse Program Offers Hands-on Agricultural Experience to Monte Vista Students
Local Champion:
Sargent School District NO. Re-33j
Date funded:
September 30, 2024
Grant Amount:
$29,505
Environment / Monte Vista High School Internship Program Helps Mitigate Noxious Weeds Across Monte Vista
Local Champion:
Rio Grande County Weed District
Date funded:
September 27, 2024
Grant Amount:
$7,000
Environment / Questa Hands-on Agricultural Education Prepares Next Generation of Questa Farmers for Success
Local Champion:
Localogy
Date funded:
September 23, 2024
Grant Amount:
$20,000
Environment / Lander A New Outdoor Club Helps Tribal Youth Stay Connected to Their Culture
Local Champion:
Treeline Project
Date funded:
September 23, 2024
Grant Amount:
$24,778
See All solutions

Share a Solution

If you have an idea for improving quality of life in Cortez or Monte Vista, Colorado; Lander, Wyoming; Libby, Montana; Questa or Taos, New Mexico; or Weiser, Idaho, use this form to start a conversation with us.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.