How do we stop using these?
PLASTIC BAG CONSUMPTION FACTS
• Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide. That comes out to over one million per minute. Billions end up as litter each year.
• According to the EPA, over 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps are consumed in the U.S. each year.
• According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually. (Estimated cost to retailers is $4 billion)
• According to the industry publication Modern Plastics, Taiwan consumes 20 billion bags a year—900 per person.
• An estimated .7% or 49,600,000 end up as litter each year.
• Four out of every five bags handed out at grocery stores are plastic.
• They are rarely recycled and don’t degrade in the natural environment, much less in a landfill.
It can be hard to make a difference in the world, but even something as small as a reusable fabric tote can make a big impact on the world. They have a free pattern for an easy to make tote, a forum and even printable lables to spread the word. Check out the flicker group too!!
And whats better than making a fashion statement and saving our ecosystem at the same time?!!!
all photos courtesy of www.morsbags.com
Yes indeed, we have to get rid of these things. A lot of people think it is OK to take a plastic bag from the store becuase they "recycle it" either as a garbage bag or for doggie do. But where do they think it goes then?
ReplyDeleteI am guilty of getting them and using both as trash bags and doggie bags. When there are too many, (meaning my plastic bag holder is full), I take them along with the egg cartons, and paper bags back to the store and put in their recycling bins.
ReplyDeleteI do have several cloth bags that I keep in the car trunk, but I usually don't remember them until at the checkout. Any suggestions for remembering them?