Campaign Against Plastic Shopping Bags
Have you heard about the campaign to ban plastic shopping bags? This is the latest environmental movement that appears to be going mainstream. The popular natural foods grocer Whole Foods announced they will stop distributing plastic bags by this year’s Earth Day. 100% recycled paper bags will be offered instead. Whole Foods is regarded as one of the most socially responsible American companies, so does this represent a tipping point for American consumerism? Some American cities are also considering either banning plastic bags in their stores or adding a tax on plastic bag use.
What is the big deal with plastic shopping bags? A “Treehugger” website quotes a politician as saying it takes 12 million barrels of oil each year to produce 100 billion plastic checkout bags, but no oil is used to produce recycled paper checkout bags. That number sounds high and low to me at the same time. 12 million sounds like a lot, but I’m sure it is a drop in the bucket of what America burns daily. Then again, America is acknowledged to be heavily addicted to oil, so every little place we can wean ourselves off should help.
Two other reasons to ban plastic shopping bags relate to how those bags get disposed. Plastic bags create more garbage which does not decompose nearly as fast as paper bags, and plastic bags cause problems for wildlife. Idaho might consider a ban for that reason.
Business opportunitues could present itself in this movement. Paper bags are not favored by the most rabid environmentalists, even if recycled. They prefer completely reusable cloth bags, and those bags are being sold at around $10 a pop. I foresee a cottage industry of reusable cloth bags being sold by everyday Americans outside grocery stores and over eBay.
Using cloth shopping bags and bringing our bags to the store seems strange at first, but I think our society could get used to it quickly. My family already reuses a Sam’s Club insulated bag when we stock up at that store, and it is not so odd to remember to bring it along. I think plastic bags might be on their way out, and in ten or twenty years we will look back on the plastic bag phenomenon like we do lead paint or asbestos.
What do you think about the campaign to ban plastic shopping bags? Do you support banning plastic shopping bags or taxing their use?
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I support either taxing or banning, I don’t care which. I end up using them because I find that I buy too much at one time to use the cloth bags, they don’t hold as much.
But, I could bring my standard boxes just as I have to do when I shop at Sam’s, because they don’t bag your stuff there…so why not when I shop elsewhere?
But I do reuse those plastic bags when I get them. They hold my garbage, they hold supplies that I bring to the office, etc.
I agree they are unsightly out in the fields and can’t be good for the wildlife.
I wouldn’t mind the paper bags, they just aren’t offered very many places.
I also re-use my plastic bags when I get home. I have a kitchen drawer dedicated to just plastic bags. The thing is, these bags aren’t nearly as bad as their made out to be, as their made from recycled plastics and they break down in the landfills much much quicker than the bags of say 10-15 years ago.
I do have a couple of those “cloth” bags, but just never got around to using them. I rarely make a seperate trip just to go grocery shopping, since I try to save time and fuel by stopping by the store after work. I’ll have to throw them in my vehicle when I get home so they’ll be there next time I run to the store. While I do think using cloth bags is a great idea, I don’t think these plastic bags are the evil things “tree-huggers” make them out to be.
Plus the whole reason this country switched from paper bags to plastic, was to save the “rain-forests”. It won’t be long until they’ll want everyone to bring and use their own collapsable aluminum shopping carts! Where does it end?
Who cares? I mean really? With all of the things going on in the world right now, who really cares about the damn shopping bags? Paper bags take up trees — go to plastic. Plastic bags use oil — back to paper. Start worrying about things that are worth worrying about.
Dude relax! We all know there are more important issues going on in our world. Nobody is really “worrying about it”, it’s just a post. If this issue bothers you THAT much, why even bother to reply to it?
Seems to me someone needs to lay off the caffeine or perhaps take a valium.
I think it’s a great idea to both ban and tax. I would hope to see the money taxed go to an environmental cause of some sort.
My family keeps and reuses plastic bags as well as paper bags. We also keep card board boxes in our vehicles for our Sam’s Club shopping. It would not be that big of a deal to bring them to any other store.
I am shocked by guest’s “who cares?” attitude. Everyone should care. Yes, there are more important issues than this but that doesn’t mean we should just blow it off completely because compared to those other issues it’s not “worthwhile”.
I wonder how much of an effect plastic bags have on our economy and environment. Would retailers see a significant cost savings by not giving away free plastic bags, or are they so cheaply produced there would be no significant cost savings?
And how much room in our environment do these bags really take up? Someone mentioned today’s bags are reasonably biodegradable, is this just another fringe environmental movement?
I was at some blogosphere backwater the other day and people were chewing on plastic bags and ruminating about the pros and cons of various “bags for sale.” I posted up and said I felt most of the $1 ilk of cloth bags were designed by morons who didn’t shop. Afterall, a retail store’s Big Gig is to get you to BUY LOTS of Stuff. It really doesn’t matter what kind of stuff–just as long as it’s LOTS of stuff.
Anyway, those little itty bitty bags might make a nice shower bag but they ain’t gonna hold no big ol’ wad-o-stuff. I suggested going to the Tool Head places–Sears, HD, Lowe’s, etc. and shopping for those heavy-duty cordura tool bags. Man, those puppies can carry weight, mass and volume! Go into WINCO with a coupla those puppies and you could carry out a big chunk of the store. The other option is to con Target out of some of their really BIG heavy duty bags. We’ve used those things for upwards of two years for laundry bags before the bag wears out. I’d bet one of those bags could hold 24 boxes of cereal or enough bread loaves to fed a small school. I’m not a fan of those cheap plastic bags–that’s for sure–but so far the retail industry has not stepped up the plate and given us joe schmoe shoppers much in the way of practical alternatives. When we get a real solid alternative, I think people will rally ’round it. And, in the meantime, I’m sure you all know that, yes, you can take your plastic bags BACK to most stores and deposit them in handy recycling barrels near the front doors.
After entering the above post and re-reading the previous posts, I decided to roam ’round El Net using “plastic bag campaign” as my Google search guide. 99% of what I found pretty much repeated everyone else’s facts and figures. However, Westminster, Colorado, brought up a relly good point I hadn’t thought of:
“More than an eyesore, plastic bag litter has become a significant threat to the stormwater system in Westminster, preventing flow within our surface drainage areas.” Hum…now THAT makes sense as to why a city would want to encourage reduction in the usage of plastic bags!
Here’s the link:
http://www.ci.westminster.co.us/res/env/land/envland_grocbag.htm
Hi, It’s Groundhog Day so I guess that means we’re back here discussing plastic bags again. Anyway, the New York Times today ran an article about Ireland’s 33 cent tax on plastic bags. It’s well worth a read.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/02/world/europe/02bags.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
I saw some reusable shopping bags at Target last night. They were right by the front doors in that seasonal area across from the cafe. The bags were a pleasing design (as expected from Target), and they fold and snap shut when not in use. The bags were a healthy size about that of a paper bag, and they seemed sturdy enough to be filled with cans. I cannot remember how much they cost, I’m thinking about $2 or $4 each. We were in a hurry so we did not buy them.
Also, why should we buy them at this point? There is only the abstract environmental incentive right now. Wal-Mart does not charge extra for their plastic bags, we would have to pay more for five or ten of our own bags, then we would have to remember to bring them along.
I think our family could change our habits to use them, but at this point there seems to be little incentive.
Joe, I am hoping that I misunderstood your last comment or that you are just trying to get a discussion going.
Why should we wait until there is an incentive (am I reading monetary rebate here) to do what we know is the right and responsible thing to do? Some of the time I take my own shopping bags to the store — not all the time I will admit. At this point, I don’t have enough bags to carry everything I buy. I try to take my excess plastic bags back to the store. I am hoping that they do indeed recycle them and not just throw them all into the landfill.
I will have to check out the reusable bags at Target. You can buy them at Broulim’s in Rigby for $1.00 a piece. They don’t snap shut, but are about the same size as the plastic bags. Of course they carry Broulim’s name on them. But maybe if we used them enough at the WalMarts, K-Marts, and other places, they would get the hint and start furnishing their own.
But let’s not wait until there is an incentive before we start doing the right thing. It may not be much, but it is something I can do; along with recycling my household papers, aluminum cans, tin cans, milk jugs, etc.
Interesting comments! I’ve been reflecting on that Westminster, Colorado, thing noted above. Now, I am slighting switching subjects–not too far, so bear with me. For the past several years, I’ve really wanted to buy something with the City of Idaho Falls logo on it. It’s a cool logo and I like it a LOT. Now, I can see where they couldn’t really sell stuff that would help someone impersonate an Idaho Falls city worker. But a shopping bag? Yeah, I could see that they could see that they could sell something like that. Great big round IF logo splashed across a shopping bag. Proceeds could be used to fund anti-littering activities or something similar. They could tie it into storm water drainage so people’s basements don’t get flooded or something like that. Anyway, I’d pop for upwards of $5 for a bag like that and I’d probably buy upwards of $30 to $50 worth of them so I could give them away as gifts. There’s a marketing spin in here somewhere, somehow, someplace. What do ya’ll think about that idea?
Sounds like you’re an entrepreneurial soul, Johnny. Why not pursue this further? I’d buy them, I’d send them off for presents to relatives and friends who once lived here and are now far away…
Heck, I’d even give them as presents to neighbors and friends who have just moved here from other areas.
I can’t imagine the city would not approve use of the logo for these kinds of souvenir things. It would be to their advantage to start into this type of venture, maybe with a partner who would make all manner of souvenir products for sale online and in various places around town…t shirts, coffee mugs, baseball caps, car window stickers, the possibilities are endless.
I’m sure the products can be done in such a way that they don’t allow someone to impersonate a city employee, so why not have our fair city be advertised to all of creation?
I have two or three different canvas bags that I’ve picked up over the years. That’s all fine and dandy for the occasional after work grocery stop for milk and bread.(if I happen to remember them) But when I shop for the week, I usually walk out of the store with 15-20 bags of groceries. In this case, I’d have to purchase at least another 15 canvas bags from somewhere and then remember to put them back in the car for next time. Then what if my wife wants to run to the store in HER car and I’m not home or whatever. It’s an inconvienece for me and most people I know. First the environmentalist wackos wanted me to recycle but they won’t provide curbside recycle bins in this town, so we have to DRIVE to a few different recycle bins located around town, thus burning MORE fuel and creating a BIGGER “carbon footprint”. It makes no sense whatsoever! NOW, recycling isn’t good enough for them, so they want me to buy a dozen or more silly canvas bags to carry around! (all in order to make THEM feel as if their making a difference) I say enough is enough! Seriously! We’ve invented all of these things to make our lives easier over the years, and then these environmentalist wackos come out and suggest we go back to living like cavemen because we’re “ruining the environment” all because we use a plastic bag to bring our groceries home?
I say NO! I’m taking a stand. No longer will i walk through the store looking like a fruitcake with my canvas bags in tow, all so some enviromentalist’s can feel better about themselves! As a matter of fact, I’m going to start double bagging everything because they tear too easily as it is!! And not when EVERY oil company in the world has once again had record profits for 2007!! (at MY expense mind you) Guess what? I will continue to drive my 13mpg SUV needless around town and leave my thermostat at 76 degrees when I leave for work each day! I say enough is enough!
Good post Cuervo! I liked the “fruitcake” comment!!! haha It is amazing that people get ticked off about the environment going to hell…and oil companies making record profits….when it is the very people that buy the product that make it this way. Nobody from Exxon or Mobil forces you to pump gas!!! They make money because they produce a useful product that is consumed by everyone. They don’t sell fruitcakes now do they?!
Plastic bag makers got into the business because the nutjobs didn’t like paper bags being used….too many trees getting cut down…..so they should be mindful of the proverb: Be careful what you ask for, you might just get it! And get it they have. Next, we won’t be able to use canvas bags because it harms some part of the environment….or exploits workers that are forced to make them in 3rd world countries. The mantra will be: If you can’t carry it out of the store in your arms you are over consuming and adding to the carbon footprint. These folks are nuts. I can see why San Fransisco outlawed the bags. They don’t like the Marines in their town either. If this isn’t enough to tell people the real agenda’s of these environmental boogeymen then nothing will.
Excellent comments from both Jose & Mike!
They don’t call SanFran the granola city for nothing….it’s definately full of fruits, nuts & flakes! They want to ban the use of fireplaces in that city as well. Unfreakinbelievable!
I say live your life and stop worrying about all this over-hyped drive-by garbage they call “news” that they pump into our heads 24/7!
Silly cavemen and their paper and canvas bags. Don’t they know nothing carries a nice big wooly mammoth steak better than a plastic bag.
LOL!
While the rest of you are having group hugs and singing Kumbaya while doing your part to destroy the Earth, I am personally trying to make a difference. Sure you have to go out of your way to recycle. The right thing isn’t always the easy thing.
I agree, the reusable bags are not always practical. I say go ahead and use the plastic bags. Just remember that they can be recycled. They are Number 2 plastic so they can either be recycled at most stores or you can just scrunch them in one bag and toss them in the recycling bins with the milk jugs. Most single serve plastic containers are also recyclable. You can put both the #1 and #2 plastic in the bins.
I also recycle cardboard, newspaper, aluminum and tin. I don’t know of anyplace locally that handles glass. Aluminum is really the only thing that pays much money. Therefore it really doesn’t make much sense to spend a dollar’s worth of gas to recycle 50 cents worth of newspaper. So you need to devote a little bit of space to storing the recyclables between drop-offs. I try to only drop things at the bins when I will be driving right near them anyway.
Since I started recycling I only fill a garbage bag less than once a month. For the occasional smelly garbage that I don’t want hanging around that long I simply put it in one of those baggies you get at the meat department and freeze it until garbage day. Call me an environmental wacko but when I fill less than one garbage bag a month and my neighbors fill several cans every week I think I am having a positive impact. To each their own. At least I don’t ridicule those who think differently and are consciously trying to do the right thing.
Ok environmentalist wacko…..I’ll continue to use my plastic bags while singing kumbya!! Thanks for your concern!
Thanks for your concern too! I won’t call you a name though. Joe would have to delete the post if I did. You really have a lot of positive comments to share, don’t you? You must be real proud of yourself.
Guest 853: Thanks for your comments. I was beginning to think I was the only one who tries to do the right thing by recycling. During this winter, I haven’t gone to the recycling bins as often, and have thrown all my garbage away. I don’t have the space to store all the recyclables. We usually walk and pull a wagon to the bins every couple of days so I don’t get a lot lying around, but with the cold and snow I have procrastinated and not gone. I can’t believe the difference in the bulk that I have had to carry out to the curb. Between the two of us, we aren’t making a huge dent, but when I see the amount that is in the recycle bins that I contribute to, I feel a little more encouraged.
Thanks for the info about the plastic bags. I never thought about putting them in with the milk jugs.
Look at the bottom of your post….you said “call me an environmentalist wacko…”
so I did. Don’t ask us to if you don’t want us to.
Have a lovely day!
Hey CR67, what these environmentalist wackos don’t seem to understand is, it’s produces a much larger carbon footprint to recylce all this stuff, than to continue the current waste management that occuring now. Not to mention the cost involved.
So all you people may THINK you’re doing the right thing, but you’re really contributing to more pollution, more cost, and more energy consumption.
You just gotta love these people that watch the nightly news and have to run out and do whatever they say, because they think their “saving” the earth!
Kumbayaaaaa….kumbayyaaaaaa!!!
There is an initiative to get IF to recycle glass - as soon as I find more info on it I’ll post it on this site. Guest_853, high five. I have pretty much the same habits as you. I’m single and I realized this week that I haven’t had to change the garbage since Dec.22 when I left for Christmas! Of course, my dumpster is 20 feet away so I can throw the stinky stuff out right away.
I also have kept a six pack of glass bottles for iced tea. I just make a new pot once a week, clean and refill the bottles. Takes 10 minutes and tastes even better.
So, do people have a ‘who cares’ mentality because the don’t actually see the thousands of acres being wasted by landfill every day? Not far from where I grew up, a local landfill started to leak and every well in the area is still contaminated to this day. Studying environmental science in college, the first thing you learn is that all landfills eventually leak. So, let’s try to not fill them up so fast, shall we?
In Idaho Falls, about 60% of our power comes from clean renewable hydro power. Therefore, in this area running glass recycling off of electricity does not increase carbon output as much as it does in other parts of the country.
Plus, what do you think trash does in the landfill as it decomposes? It releases methane, which is a much worse greenhouse gas than CO2. And if you reuse/recycle a resource such as glass, you don’t have to make more, which - oh yeah - uses resources and emits even more CO2. Therefore, recycling has a huge net environmental benefit.
Compared to the majority of Americans someone that simply wants to recycle can’t be called an “environmental wacko” anymore. I mean we’re not even close to talking about self-sustainable living here.
Yes, I did begin a sentence with “Call me an environmental wacko”. I was repeating someone else’s phrase from earlier in the thread. If CR67’s college education had actually made him as smart as he thought it did, he would recognize that some styles of prose are not intended to be taken literally.
Thanks for the commenters who supported me. I was just trying to share what works for me. For the rest of you, if you don’t want to participate in recycling that’s your choice. Why do you feel the need to criticize those who do? Do you feel threatened somehow? Posters like you are a big reason that this website is a ghost of its former self. I think a lot of people just got tired of the selfishness and animosity. I know I did.
If anyone wants to share any other recycling hints I’m all for it. If you just want to participate in criticism and name-calling, I feel sorry for you. You must have a very empty life.
Get over yourself. You recycle, I don’t. Big deal…lets move on! I’m SO sorry to hurt your sensitive feelings.
I seem to remember it was YOU who started the criticism when you started your post….”While the rest of you are giving group hugs and singing Kumbaya while destroying the earth”…. So it was YOU who started out belittling us people that don’t recycle. Then when I throw a little sarcasm right back at you, you can’t handle it. Personally I’m glad people like you have left the site. It’s people like you who think you know what’s best for everyone else.
And yeah….I feel “threatened” that you recycle. That’s a good one!
The moral here is don’t dish it out if you can’t take it.
And btw…I have a very fulfilling life, but thanks for asking.
Read the 5 posts before mine and then tell me I started the rudeness and belittling. Don’t worry though, people whom I don’t respect are not capable of hurting my feelings. If YOU don’t recycle then why do YOU get so worked up at those who do? You are a real piece of work.
Who’s “worked up”?? I could care less that you recycle. Don’t read into my posts more than whats really there.
And that’s all I have to say about that….if you want to continue bickering back and forth, you’ll have to do it with yourself.
You have a lovely day! (I know I will!)
Hey CR….aren’t you upset that an anonymous person in an online blog doesn’t respect you??!!! That’s gotta hurt!
This post cracks me up! C’mon guys…it’s Friday. Can’t we all just get along?
You two, get in line and no bickering, please!
Does Fred Meyer have a box out front to bring used bags to? That would be more convenient for most than the sporadic recycling centers across town.
CR67 and others, would you recycle if I.F. had curbside pickup? Or do you live in Ammon, the town that can’t even scrounge up the money to plow a road?
Another thing that confuses me: This is a town that has the majority of its people belong to a single religious faction. When I was growing up, the local churches always filled in when the local government was lacking. Does anyone know if the local Stake wants to play a part in road/sidewalk maintenance or recycling?
Fred Meyer does have a plastic bag receptacle for recycling bags. The city also has recycling bins nearby in the little park at the intersection of Yellowstone and Anderson/Lincoln. Those bins accept newspaper, plastic, tin and aluminum.
In my personal opinion I don’t think that curbside recycling would be very easy to start here. I think it would almost certainly have to come with a fee. Those who are opposed to recycling would never agree to pay for it. I can understand that. I don’t expect everyone to think just like me and unless recycling becomes mandatory that’s their choice.
Have a great day everyone!
I believe Fred Meyers does have a box as soon as you walk in the door (like Walmart) that they use for recycling.
As for the curbside pickup… It would be easier and more conveinent. When I lived down south, they gave each household three different colored bins for your recycled products. One for glass, paper & plastic. They eventually did away with those bins because it cost the city too much money and it was too time consuming for the garbage men. They eventually came out with these larger bins which could be picked up mechanically by the garbage trucks. The city still lost money with it’s recycling program, but they stayed with it regardless.
I just don’t see it getting to that point. This city can’t even afford to build a much needed convention center. I can’t imagine they have the money to introduce curbside recycling. If they did introduce it, they would definately tax the community somehow.
I really think that all of us who want to live sustainably should buy up a block downtown and start a sweet community. When everyone else sees how easy and fun it is, maybe they’ll follow suit. I’ll offer my harmonica and barbecue chef services to such a cause.
I think you guys are right on the curbside issue. It needs to start smaller, more locally. Are any local churches or other organizations interested in helping their communities recycle?
If 853, Bobby and Idaho Native want to recycle let em! However, if they really want to make a difference then it will have to be in not being so materialistic in acquisition of goods and services that leave a carbon footprint. Afterall, that is the real political agenda behind the global warming movement….it is about an ideological movement that believes to keep Mother Earth alive and well that people and their use of natural resources need to be curbed.
I saw a story on display in England about a environmentalist lady who decided to not only have an abortion, but get permanently fixed so as to not leave a larger carbon footprint. Now, you gotta give the lady credit for taking an extreme stand here—even though I don’t agree, at least she walked the talk….kind of like the actor Ed Begley. Begley lives a green lifestyle….travels by bike and uses 100% solar. It is examples like his that probably make more of a dent preventing damage to the planet than 500 people who recycle regularly. While it may make one feel good to recycle, the results are probably negligible at best.
I definately think more people would recycle if there where curbside pickup. I think the wind would be an issue with curbside pickup in SE Idaho. As strong as the winds are, we’d have paper and plastic bottle blowing all over the city if everyone had these bins sitting out at the end of their driveways. Not to mention it being an issue in the winter. Especially if we have more winters like we’ve had this year. The past 10 years or so have been very mile winters, but this one has been a doozy. I know it’s been hard enough trying to put my trash cans out there each Monday with all the snow thats been piled up on the sides and bottom of my driveway. I’ve had to dig out a hole specifically for my trashcans.
While I think more people would be willing to do curbside recycling, I think it’d be more trouble than it’s worth.
(don’t get upset with me….that’s just my opinion) That means YOU CR! j/k! (i work with cr so I can pick on him!)
Good point Mike.
…and that’s all I’ll say…
Mike does make some good points. If a person uses more material goods than they need they are probably offsetting the benefits of recycling. As far as the global warming theory, I can’t be sure whether I believe it. There is just too much conflicting information. However I do think that it makes sense to re-use what we can.
I agree that a single individual’s recycling does not make much difference. But it makes a little bit. As far as Ed Begley making more difference than 500 recyclers, I’d have to see some data or proof to believe that. I have recycled tons of materials myself over the years, keeping them out of landfills. In my opinion, the more people that do recycle, the bigger the difference. But I only have control of my own actions. If someone doesn’t want to recycle they have that right.
Thanks for the courteous dialogue.
Aiy yai yai….. Recycle reschmicycle!
Oh yeah, and “the sky is falling” too!
So the folks concerned about the environment should get together. Any clubs, meetings, or committees around here? As for the folks that aren’t, well the government will jam it down your throat eventually so buy your overpackaged individually wrapped diapers from China while you can, and have your fun!
I don’t think there is an Idaho Falls-based community environmental group, is there?
I live in a community where we do have curbside recycling; we get three bins: one grey, for yard waste; one blue, for recyclables excluding glass; one green for garbage and then a smaller blue box for glass only. It seems to work pretty well; I have reduced actual “garbage” going to the landfill; but then an editorial in the paper sparked my interest: according to the author, the “recycling” of the two blue bins used more energy and released more CO2 than if the material had simply been bulldozed and/or burned.
Any data out there anyone is aware of? I still recycle, mostly because the big blue bin is the largest one. I wonder, however, if it isn’t some sort of scam by the refuse company (we pay for all three bins and the cost of recycling in our monthly garbage services bill). THIS IS JUST MY LEGITIMATE QUESTION, SO DON’T ATTACK ME!!
I haven’t sung Kumbaya in ages.
Yes, it may use more CO2 to recycle these items than if they had been burned, but you have to think about the life cycle of the material. If you throw a bottle away, someone will have to make a new bottle out of raw material, which also emits CO2 and uses non-renewable resources. Remember, plastic is a petroleum product, which mostly comes from oil. Recycling a plastic bottle may consume electricity, but usually that electricity doesn’t come from oil, and it doesn’t have to emit CO2 if you generate it wisely (aka nuclear power).
Ironically, plastic bags are the most re-used form of garbage there is. It’s also ironic that we’re cutting down more trees to save the environment.
For us average, bill-paying citizens, the ban on plastic bags means spending more time, money and energy carrying our groceries home. Meanwhile, oil consumption will not decrease. Huge SUVs keep rolling out while petroleum companies continue to whimsically raise the price of gas.
Banning the use of plastic bags is an environmental red-herring. Obviously throwing plastic bags on the ground is not good. That’s why there are fines for littering.
Between pouring oil into the atmosphere with our cars and throwing plastic bags on the ground, the former seems worse. I wonder, what is the equivalent in plastic bags to an average car’s 25-gallon gas tank?
Besides, if there’s one thing oil is good for, it’s for making plastic. Plastic is cheap, sanitary and easy to recycle.
I quit using, purchasing plastics as much as possible just a few weeks ago. Before, I paid a little bit of attention, but didn’t waste a lot of my time on it. I am paying attention now.
According to the internet research I have done, many plastics, if not all, never biodegrade. Plastics do break into smaller and smaller pieces until they can be ingested by the smallest living organisms. Hair samples reveal that plastic is extensively present in the environment and that humans integrate the compounds present in plastic into our bodies. These compounds affect many body systems, including hormone regulatory systems. In some underdeveloped countries, toddlers are developing breasts secondary to environmental plastic contamination. Sex hormone affects in some animal species are affecting reproduction and decimating populations.
In the Pacific Gyre, there is a mass of floating plastic hundreds of miles across and getting bigger all the time. Sea birds, fish and mammals identify floating plastics as food, ingest them and die when they are unable to digest them. Some parts of our ocean are 6 parts plastic to 1 part plankton. Plankton dies=oxygen not produced=we all die.
You can do whatever you want of course, yet how can you choose to reject this information without really knowing whether or not it is true? And how can you know without doing your own research?
And when you know, how can you continue on as if you didn’t know? We can all just decide could decide we don’t care…or we can start to make small changes in the way we live. And as we do we can remember… with each conscious decision we make…..our children and our children’s children, who will (hopefully), inherit this earth.
What to do? Reduce, reuse, recycle. Reusable, safely produced products, such as organically grown, cotton bags to buy groceries. Paper at least degrades and is a better choice than plastic IF it is produced responsibly (and you forgot your reusable bags). Truly biodegradable plastic (not just degradable) made from corn starch and other carbohydrates seem like a good choice. The first step of course is starting a dialogue and so we have already begun……have we not?