No card required to borrow from Dawson City's 'bag library'

Painted wooden boxes are popping up around downtown Dawson City, Yukon. On the front of them, in blue and white, are the words, "Take one, leave one."

They're part of a reusable bag "library,"an initiative from the Conservation Klondike Society.

There will be eight boxes in total around town, including at the Ray of Sunshine Variety Store, the general store, the hardware store, and at the Bonanza Market.

"It just seems like the way of the future,"said Dylan McDougall, manager of the Bonanza Market. "We figured it was a good way to step up and be part of the community."

The idea is this: if people are out shopping and have forgotten their own reusable bags, they can grab one from the bag library. If people are battling an excess of bags at home, they can add them to circulation.

McDougall says he can already tell that people are using more reusable bags than they were a week ago.

For Katie English, that was exactly the point.

"We saw a lot of plastic bags being used in the community and ending up in our landfill, and we were trying to figure out a way to curb that waste,"said English, co-ordinatoroftheConservation Klondike Society.

No bag ban yet

First, the organizationtried to ban plastic bags, but its petition wasn't successful.

Instead, it set out to create a solution.

English put a call out to local craftspeople, and Bill Donaldson locally known as Caveman Bill offered to build the boxes. A painter on staff with the society applied the finishing touches. The Triple J Hotel donated 50brand-new bags.

Now, the bag library boxesare being offered to the business community.

Six have already been placed, and the conservation society ishoping to put the other two at the farmers market and outside the Downtown Hotel.

Society staff will make sure the boxes continue to be stocked.

Both English and McDougall would recommend the idea to other communities.

"It doesn't have to be very expensive,"said English. "Everybody's got a store of bags hanging around their house. It's totally simple to set up and can be done anywhere."

English says if the bag libraryworks well, she'll be back in front of town council, trying to get plastic bags banned from stores entirely.