Okay I think everyone has seen these at the checkout line at assorted stores. They are the fabric shopping bags that are ment for use over and over again instead of useing those plastic bags untill you get home and then throw them out.
FACTS ABOUT PLASTIC BAGS
"Top Facts - Consumption
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 Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually. (Estimated cost to retailers is $4 billion)
Top Facts - Environmental Impact
Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, whales and other marine mammals die every year from eating discarded plastic bags mistaken for food.
Plastic bags don't biodegrade, they photodegrade - breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and entering the food web when animals accidentally ingest.
As part of Clean Up Australia Day, in one day nearly 500,000 plastic bags were collected.
Plastic bags are among the 12 items of debris most often found in coastal cleanups, according to the nonprofit Center for Marine Conservation. " -reusablebags.com
How long do reusable bags last?
The reusable bags I have last for a fairly long time depending on the quality. Eventually they get too beat up to use but they served a very long life by that point, and as a result less plastic bags will go to waste.
How much do they cost and how much do you save?
I've spent anywhere from $0.99 to $1.99 on reusable bags at Walgreen's and Kohls. In this case you yourself are not saving money but you are limiting waste of plastic bags that you are most likely only going to use once anyway.
Conclusion:
I think the use of reusable bags is a simple but great way for a person to limit his/or her personal waste.
PICTURES
December 11, 2008
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Herr Zatta,
ReplyDeleteI've been married for six months, which means that I have been living with my wife for that long, and for the first time we are truly doing our own shopping (College is weird when it comes to groceries).
Our local shop rite sells the reusable bags right at the counter and my wife and I try to remember as often as we can to use our reusable bags, but due to habit we often forget to bring the reusable bags with us into the store. What we have been able to do is reuse the plastic bags that we get. Shop rite allows you to reuse them and they even give you a 2 cent discount. I am sure that someday all those pennies will add up.
-Herr Gruenski