Plastic Bags

Here is a little tidbit on the effects that plastic bags are having on our environment. Hopefully it will be a little eye opening.

Each year there are somewhere between 500 thousand and a trillion plastic bags consumed worldwide. Of these bags, only one percent are recycled. This is because it costs more to recycle a bag than it does to produce one.

So what happens to these bags?

Well, some are put into landfills, but the reason these landfills aren't overflowing is because tons of the plastic bags were being dumped into ocean fills. This is affecting aquatic life all over the globe. This is because plastic bags photodegrade. Over time they break down into small, toxic, petro-polymers. Because these microscopic particles contaminate our waterways and soil they eventually enter our food chain and....who wants that? This is only one of the long term effects short term effects are pollution and the fact that animals are mistaking these plastic bags for food. They attempt to eat them and choke and die.

So next time you are at Mills or Hunt or any store think to yourself: Do I really need that plastic bag? If you have few items the answer will usually be no. There are also other options other than plastic bags. Invest in reusable shopping bags. In the long run they will really pay off. You may be thinking but I am only person...I will not make a difference. False! If you buy groceries every week and use reusable bags you save 6-8 bags a week. That is 288 bags a year! And if you start doing it, others will too. There are some countries that have outlawed plastic bags altogether! All I am asking is that you think about it.

Data from the United States Environmental Protection Agency