Why Should You Stop Using Plastic Bags?
If your one of the millions of people in the world that still comes home from the store with plastic bags full of groceries, you should reconsider your methods. Have you ever wondered about all of the waste that accumulates when all of us use 10-20 plastic bags every week? If not, here's some food for thought…
The EPA claims that Americans generated over 250 million tons of garbage in 2006. That number is only civilian garbage – the trash you take out every week along with lawn clippings, old furniture, etc. Commercial waste was not considered.
That's a lot of trash destined for landfills each week. The EPA estimates that it's around 3 pounds of waster per person per day. Although recycling efforts have helped to curb our waste production, they have not been the cure-all.
You're probably thinking that, in light of the massive amount of trash we throw out each year, some super-light plastic bags probably don't have much of an impact, right? Wrong. Although plastic bags are lightweight and don't take up as much space as, say, an old couch, they do have their problems. Plastic bags take over 1,000 years to degrade in landfills and their light weight makes them frequent fliers on the winds of America – as evidenced by the fact that you see them all over the place.
For the record, don't think that switching to paper bags instead is much better. Paper compromises a larger part of our waste than plastic, requires more energy to produce, and causes more pollution to the atmosphere than plastic.
However, reusable shopping bags offer a solution to this dilemma. Reusable bags can be found all over the place at decent prices and will last for years. They can carry much more than a plastic bag and serve more purposes than carrying groceries. Most are machine washable as well.
It's estimated that an average person can save thousands of paper and/or plastic bags from entering the waste stream by beginning to use reusable shopping bags in their daily lives. Today, you can find reusable bags in any sort of style and color you want, adding a bit of individuality to your shopping experience.