Will Your Reuseable Shopping Bag Make A Difference?
Wednesday, 28 March 2012 07:30
Disposable shopping bags are everywhere. Did you know that the average American goes through approximately six per week? So, you might be asking yourself, ”What’s the big deal?”
If you multiply six per week by our current population, which was roughly 311 million as of mid 2011, it really starts to add up. Here are just 5 reasons to use reusable bags:
1) A plastic shopping bag can take anywhere from 15 to 1000 years to decompose. In a compressed landfill, deprived of atmosphere to help them biodegrade, paper bags don't fare much better.
2) The cost to recycle plastic bags so outweighs their value that most recycling facilities will not take them, leading more and more to just be thrown out with the rest of the trash.
3) An estimated one million birds and 100,000 turtles and other sea animals die of starvation each year after ingesting discarded plastic bags which block their digestive tracks.
4) Made from petroleum products and natural gas, plastic bags utilize nonrenewable resources, ultimately helping to drive up fuel prices.
5) In New York City, one less grocery bag per person would reduce waste by 5 million pounds and save $250,000 in disposal costs. Reusable grocery bags are designed and developed for the environmentally conscious person. Often they are made to be fashionable and can add flair and fun to the everyday shopping experience. With the problems and environmental cost of plastic shopping bags continuing to become more wide-spread, the reusable shopping bag is a way to help the environment by providing the consumer with a strong and fashionable alternative.
