Plastic bag bans mean big business for Salinas.

individual californians also declined in december. experts say the jump in water conservation was likely caused by the large storms that hit california in december. * says “i think there’s not question to the fact that it was a wet december contributed to people saving water. but i think it’s important to acknowledge that that mean they turned off their sprinklers if they were set on a timer which is an actual act.”* despite large december storms, 2015 has seen little rain and snow pack levels are dismal… and the weather remains dry, the state board of water resources says it’ll send out water conservation notices and expand emergency water restrictions. the single use plastic grocery bag is on its way out in california. especially here on the central coast. santa cruz, capitola, king city, monterey and carmel are just some of the cities that have already outlawed those bags… and you probably know a state plastic bag law is coming this summer. but, here’s something you probably didn’t know– news channel 5’s monica jacquez found out that the switch to reusable bags is paying off big for one central coast city. she’s here now with a special report. this little green bag can be used up to 125 times and carry 22 pounds and what if i told you it’s made from ag waste right here in the salinas valley. it’s a fairly new process and it starts right here in salinas. *trt: 2:45 outcue::* of reusable bags 41-51 1:10-1:15 1:19-1:23 2:00-2:08 2:24-2:30 ***nats of cashier ringing up groceries*** ‘paper or plastic?’ a old question that’s quickly becoming extinct for shoppers on the central coast and beyond– as of july 1st all grocery stores in california will have to switch to reusable bags. ***nats of ag waste field*** that’s where these mountains of plastic come in. this is ag waste from farms around the central coast… ***nats of halimi***to aviv halimi who runs encore recycling all this trash is a treasure waiting to happen. about two years ago the company moved into the old firestone business park in salinas now recycling more than 15 million pounds of plastic ag waste per year… it’s all used to make reusable plastic bags. aviv halimi, encore recycling 57:47 “there’s an estimated hundred to hundred and fifty million pounds of ag waste generated in california alone every year. of which we estimate about 40 to 50 million just in the salinas/watsonville area.” ***nats of walking through field***pacific gold farmer paul frost manages 500 acres of strawberries in the salinas valley through the growing cycle he uses plastic sheets to keep the fruit clean…500 thousand pounds of plastic per year that used to go to the landfill.paul frost, farmer 07:42 “as the plants grow during the year they’ll get to be this size and there’s no way to cut it and get it cut off in one piece so we can’t put it back on next year’s crop, it would be impossible to reuse.”***nats of salinas factory***not anymore. encore takes all this old plastic cleans-it, melts it down and then ships it here to southern california where sister company command packaging converts it into reusable plastic bags. 03:42 “we don’t have to take it to the landfills anymore, and it was very expensive.”expensive indeed! frost says it used to cost his company 50 thousand dollars a year to dump all his plastic waste 23:28 reporter “what if i told you those bags were entirely made of ag waste?”woman “that’s prett cool. i would never have thought that.”21:31 woman number two 21:09 “paper bags are not as a strong as i think this might be. and it’s nice to use the ag waste.”monica stand-up “to shoppers this reusable plastic bag is just something to carry their groceries. but for many families here in salinas this little green bag means much more.”***nats of salinas factory***over the past two years this recycling operation has brought in 500 jobs and much more salinas mayor joe gunter says it all adds up to a big bost for the local economy… a new way for the city to embrace its ag roots and reap the rewardsjoe gunter, mayor of salinas 11:31 “when you’re employing 500 people and they spend money in the surrounding monterey county economy, that’s huge 11:57 “they are buying houses, they’re buying cars, they’re going to the grocery store to shop. they’re buying gasoline for their car. everything they do affects our economy.”and in this case the environment too– keeping tons of plastic waste out of landfills, and putting