Bag It Screening at the Sanctuary

The Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary in Bernardsville will host a screening of the environmental documentary Bag It, followed by a discussion lead by Lindsey Kayman and Bainy Suri, Esq. of the New Jersey Environmental Lobby. The event will take place on Sunday, March 10 at 2pm.  

Bag It follows “everyman” Jeb Berrier as he takes a closer look at America’s cultural love affair with plastic, particularly plastic bags. Although his quest starts out small, Berrier soon learns that the problems with single-use plastic bags extend past landfills to oceans, rivers and ultimately human health. 

The average American uses about 500 plastic bags each year, for about twelve minutes each. 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 these issues and identifies how daily reliance on plastic threatens not only waterways and marine life, but human health, too. Two of the most common plastic additives are endocrine disruptors, which have been shown to link to cancer, diabetes, autism, attention deficit disorder, obesity and infertility. 

After the film, Kayman and Suri will speak about the state’s efforts to lessen and eliminate plastic bag use. They are both involved with Sustainable Princeton’s BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag) Project, an initiative that encourages people to eliminate single-use plastic and paper bags while shopping. 

Suri is the Director of Strategic Alliances with the Bloomberg BNA. She is a Princeton local and is involved with many different organizations, including various environmental groups and initiatives. Suri serves as the Volunteer Special Events Coordinator for Sustainable Princeton, Board Member for the Princeton Environmental Film Festival, and is a member of the New Jersey Environmental Lobby. 

Kayman is the Director of Environmental Health and Safety at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She is also a member of Sustainable Princeton and is a Board Member and Membership Chair at the NJEL. 

Bag It has received awards from 12 environmental film festivals and over 500 community screenings of the film have played since January of 2011.

This event is co-sponsored by New Jersey Audubon, New Jersey Environmental Lobby, and the Environmental Education Fund. It is free and open to the public.