Well over a billion single-use plastic bags are given out for free each day. But as the old adage says, nothing comes for free. Here are some facts to illustrate the actual costs paid by our environment and society for the fleeting convenience of unlimited, free, single-use plastic bags. To see the real costs, we must look at the "cradle to grave" multiple impacts and the effects of each phase of a bag's life.
* If 1 out of 4 Americans used a reusable shopping bag we could save 3 million barrels of oil (105 million gallons)
You can literally eliminate all of the below negatives by just taking a reusable grocery bag to the grocery store instead of using their plastic of paper bags. Most places sell them on the spot so you don't have to worry about finding one.
Phase 1: Production Costs- The production of plastic bags requires petroleum and often natural gas, both non-renewable resources that increase our dependency on foreign suppliers. Additionally, prospecting and drilling for these resources contributes to the destruction of fragile habitats and ecosystems around the world.
- The toxic chemical ingredients needed to make plastic produces pollution during the manufacturing process.
- The energy needed to manufacture and transport disposable bags eats up more resources and creates global warming emissions.
Phase 2: Consumption Costs
- Annual cost to US retailers alone is estimated at $4 billion.
- When retailers give away free bags, their costs are passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices.
Phase 3: Disposal and Litter Costs
- Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, whales and other marine mammals die every year from eating discarded plastic bags mistaken for food. Turtles think the bags are jellyfish, their primary food source. Once swallowed, plastic bags choke animals or block their intestines, leading to an agonizing death.
- 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.
- In a landfill, plastic bags take up to 1,000 years to degrade. As litter, they breakdown into tiny bits, contaminating our soil and water.
- When plastic bags breakdown, small plastic particles can pose threats to marine life and contaminate the food web. A 2001 paper by Japanese researchers reported that plastic debris acts like a sponge for toxic chemicals, soaking up a million fold greater concentration of such deadly compounds as PCBs and DDE (a breakdown product of the notorious insecticide DDT), than the surrounding seawater. These turn into toxic gut bombs for marine animals which frequently mistake these bits for food.
- Collection, hauling and disposal of plastic bag waste create an additional environmental impact. An estimated 8 billion pounds of plastic bags, wraps and sacks enter the waste stream every year in the US alone, putting an unnecessary burden on our diminishing landfill space and causing air pollution if incinerated.
- Recycling requires energy for the collection, processing, etc. and doesn't address the above issues.
Link: http://www.reusablebags.com/facts.php?id=2
Solution Type: Habit
Media
Rotkapchen says :
And there goes Seattle again leading the way, implementing $.20 surcharge on bags: http://twurl.nl/u4zt4t
Posted 07/30/08 at 11:30 PM
Rotkapchen says :
I'm all for saving bags and have taken my own plastic bags to grocery stores for years. But be informed. There are cases where you might need to use a bag at a grocer. The goal is to 'win' in the total column. To transport the same number of paper bags as plastic bags the ratio is 7:1 semi-trucks to complete the transport (http://www.enviroliteracy.org/article.php/1268.html)
See also Paper vs. Plastic: http://www.angelfire.com/wi/PaperVsPlastic/
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/07/paper-bags-or-plastic-bags-everything-you-need-to-know.php
Posted 07/30/08 at 08:14 PM
jar5891 says :
If your like me and have a large store of plastic bags under your sink, then there is hope! I recently discovered this http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/06/diy_plastic_bag.php. Its a relitivley easy and fun way to convert your old bags into a cloth like matrial that can be used to make a back-pack, bag or really anything else.
Have fun!
Posted 06/03/08 at 10:19 PM
mjmontagne says :
Great write up on this! My wife and I have really committed to using reuseable grocery bags over the past 18 months or so and we'll never look back. Initially we would leave to walk to the grocery story and we would forget our bags so we had to turn back. Now it is habit and we never forget them!
@emily - that is a great solution for the produce bags. I'm going to borrow that idea and start implementing it right away.
Here is a great video from the Patagonia company on "Our Synthetic Seas." I showed this to my middle school students last fall:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJvifVrGi8o
Also, I highly recommend that any of you facebook users join the "Plastic Bag Challenge!" group...it has over 1000 members and it is focused on this whole issue of plastic bag elimination.
Posted 05/25/08 at 10:39 AM
EmilyAnjuli says : Produce bags are another big contributer to the waste stream. Does anyone know of a company designing produce bags for reuse? I use mine over and over again and that suits me just fine. When I unload new groceries I put my reuseable cloth bags and a bag full of produce bags next to the door and take them out to the car the next time I go. That way I have a bag collection in the car everytime I go shopping. Easy!
Posted 04/08/08 at 10:00 AM
greenprofit says : Be sure the bags you buy are resorative as well. Check out www.bags4you.com for a nice selection - especially if you're a buyer for Whole Foods or Trader Joes ;)
Posted 01/29/08 at 01:08 PM
lisamazur says :
When you purchase carbon offsets at 3 Phases Renewables (see my carbon offsets holiday gifts idea posting), you get a FREE canvas grocery bag that says "Carbon Balanced Shopper." I have two and use them ALL the time for groceries. Every time you bring your own bag to Trader Joe's you get entered into a contest for a groceries gift card.
What have you got to lose by bringing your own bag -- especially when its adorable like mine! You can be stylin' AND sustainability-minded! :-)
Posted 11/28/07 at 09:45 PM
MrPants says :
Trader Joes, if anyone shops there, has great bags for 99 cents. Also you can encourage your local government to adopt policies on, and ask your favorite local retailers to, support and invest in buying non toxix bio-degradeable bags for the those yet not aware the need for change.
And CANVAS or HEMP or some other CLOTH BAGS are the way to go. Get several different sizes for various needs.
Remember SUSTAINABILITY is our future. Even recycling uses vast amounts of energy.
Posted 10/10/07 at 05:06 AM
djcurly says :
I agree with JordanB -- You can get a 10 cent discount on groceries at any Ralph's in the U.S. for not using new bags. I use the reusable bag that I bought there for a dollar - pays for itself in no time.
The bag I bought was through the "One Bag at a Time" program.
Find a location near you here: http://www.1bagatatime.com/index.php?page=misc§ion=find
Also, bringing those plastic bags you have shoved under the kitchen sink *with* you to the grocery store is a good trick!
Posted 09/24/07 at 08:52 PM
JordanB says : Most health food grocery stores like Wholefoods and Henry's give you a discount on your groceries when you bring your own bags. Something like five cents per bag. You can bring any type of grocery bags, even ones from another store.
Posted 09/14/07 at 03:17 PM
Wolf says :
The Wall Street Journal has estimated that the USA consumes 100 billion plastic bags annually (the equivalent of 12 million barrels of oil in the manufacturing process)
WOW!
Posted 09/13/07 at 06:02 PM
Wolf says : I bet those 8 billion bags cost a whole lot of money!
Posted 09/13/07 at 01:55 AM