A reusable bag?
I love using reusable shopping bags when I go shopping. Now you may think that this is a strange love but I like to think of myself as a tree huggin’ sort of gal. I don’t litter, I don’t drive a SUV (yet, I am still waiting for an affordable hybrid), I am exchanging all of the light bulbs in my house to florescent bulbs, I try and recycle, and I say no to plastic and paper when I can.I love my reusable bags so much that I have a bit of a collection. I also like to give them away as gifts to try and encourage people to use them. (Seriously, I am fun!)
FACTS ON DISPOSABLE BAGS (from Roots & Shoots)- Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide.
Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, whales and other marine mammals die every year from eating discarded plastic bags mistaken for food. - On land, many cows, goats and other animals suffer a similar fate to marine life when they accidentally ingest plastic bags while foraging for food.
- Plastic bags don't biodegrade, they photodegrade—breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways.
- In 1999, 14 million trees were cut to produce the 10 billion paper grocery bags used by Americans that year alone.
- When retailers give away free bags, their costs are passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices.
- Each high-quality reusable bag you use has the potential to eliminate an average of 1,000 plastic bags over its lifetime. The bag will pay for itself if your grocery store offers a $.05 or $.10 (USD) credit per bag for bringing your own bags.
- Only one to three percent of plastic bags are recycled.
