Protect Our Coastline Home
Let’s Say No to Plastic - One Bag at a Time
Join The Kind Nature Project, a local, ocean-loving initiative on a mission to keep our canals, harbor, and mangroves free from plastic pollution and protect the turtles, dolphins, manatees, and seabirds we all love.
We're a positive, community-driven movement encouraging small, nature-conscious choices we can all participate in together. We are starting with a simple swap challenge: replacing our single-use plastic shopping bags with reusable ones.
Together, we can keep our oceans clean and our marine life healthy and happy.
Every choice can make a difference. Small ones made each day and made together really add up. Let’s make a difference together!
How it Works
1) Donate
Our goal is $8,500 which will fund the project for a full year. Any donation amount, even $1, is appreciated and ALL donations go directly back to the community! Donations will fund reusable bags and cash prizes awarded to Punta Gorda shoppers spotted using their reusable bags.
2) Receive A Bag
As a thank you, we’ll send you a reusable Kind Nature bag to use and share. It can be a tangible reminder to bring your bag when shopping, and a gift you can be proud to carry- showing your participation in our canals, beaches, oceans, and marine life.
3) Bring Your Bag While Shopping and Get Spotted to Win
Twice a month, random Punta Gorda shoppers seen using their reusable bags are awarded cash prizes.
4) Inspire Others & Spread the Word
Help grow the movement by sharing the project with your community. Tell your story and inspire others to join you in making a positive impact.
A little bit of the sad news:
Why Plastic Bags are Especially Dangerous to Coastal Towns
Lightweight and wind-blown, plastic bags are extremely likely to escape trash bins, storm drains, and landfills especially in areas near water, like Punta Gorda’s canals, harbor, and waterfront areas.
Plastic bags are frequently found in mangroves, along beaches, and in waterbird nests across Florida’s coastlines. -Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), Ocean Conservancy
Recycling is not solving the problem- most plastic isn’t recycled, less than 1% of plastic bags are recycled, and cleanup efforts can’t keep up.
Cleanups are reactive and come after pollution has already harmed wildlife and ecosystems, reducing use is preventative and immediate.
A plastic bag is used for 12 minutes on average, but takes 500-1000 years to degrade, often breaking into toxic microplastics along the way. -National Geographic, Earth Policy Institute
Less than 1% of plastic bags are ever recycled. Most are not accepted by curbside recycling because they jam machines and are cost-inefficient to process. -Waste Management, EPA
Once in the water, bags float and mimic jellyfish, a primary food source for sea turtles. A single plastic bag can kill a sea turtle if ingested. Birds and fish often eat or get entangled in bags, leading to choking, starvation, or suffocation. -PNAS, Ocean Conservancy, WWF
Florida leads the U.S. in marine animal injuries from plastic waste. Sea turtles, manatees, birds, and dolphins are the most affected. -Oceans (2021)
In several Florida cases, manatees and sea turtles were euthanized after ingesting or becoming entangled in plastic bags. -NOVAA Marine Debris Program, Oceans Reports
Plastic bags have been found inside stranded whales, shorebirds, and even fish sold for human consumption. -National Geographic, Tampa Bay Times
The majority of plastic bags end up in landfills or nature -including the ocean. Plastic shopping bags are convenient and everywhere, but they are also one of the easiest things to say no to and replace with an ocean loving reusable option 🌊❣️
Community Challenge: What if all 20,000 Punta Gorda Residents Said No to Just 2 Plastics Bags Per Day
Every day, we make dozens of small decisions - what to eat, what to wear, what to carry, what to throw away. Most of us don’t even think about plastic bags- we just grab them when offered.
Skipping 2 bags per day sounds small. That’s just saying no to a bag at the gas station or bringing your own bag to the store. But collective action really scales fast! When a whole community chooses to say “no thanks” to plastic bags just twice a day, it can really add up!
So here’s the math:
2 plastic bags avoided per day x 20,000 people x 365 days = 14,600,000 plastic bags avoided every year
That’s nearly 15 million bags not blowing down streets, clogging canals, polluting beaches, harming sea turtles, or being swallowed by dolphins. That’s over 14 million bags not sitting in landfills or breaking down into toxic microplastics that end up in our water, seafood, soil, and our bodies.
One habit x thousands of people x every day = unstoppable momentum
A little bit of the happy news:
What Does over 14 Million Bags Mean For Punta Gorda
Here’s what avoiding those bags really mean for a coastal town like ours:
thousands of marine animals spared from entanglement or ingestion
cleaner beaches and waterfronts for locals and tourists alike
reduced litter in mangroves, parks, and storm drains
less pressure on local waste management and recycling systems
fewer microplastics entering the water we drink and seafood we eat
A model for surrounding communities - showing what is possible when we work together