Stop using plastic bags.

For all who are still using plastic bags please read this please.

The environmental issues associated with plastic shopping bags have featured in the news in the last couple of months, following the apparent success of the plastic bag tax in Ireland in reducing the number of plastic shopping bags that are used in that country. While this approach has also been suggested for addressing the problem in Australia, the government will examine a number of options before deciding on a management plan. In the meantime, the best thing we can do for the environment is simply reuse, or better yet, refuse a plastic bag when we go shopping. Easy!

Plastic shopping bags have a surprisingly significant environmental impact for something so seemingly innocuous. As well as being an eyesore (next time you are outside, have a look around - you'll be amazed at the number of plastic bags littering our streets and waterways), plastic shopping bags kill large numbers of wildlife each year. In the water, plastic bags can be mistaken for jellyfish by wildlife. This makes plastic bag pollution in marine environments particularly dangerous, as birds, whales, seals and turtles ingest the bags then die from intestinal blockages. Disturbingly, it is claimed that plastic bags are the most common man-made item seen by sailors at sea.

 

you left out what is IMO the most important reason to quit using them..

the amount of oil it takes to make them. up until china banned them they used 37 million barrels of oil a year to produce bags.
the united states uses over 12 million barrels a year to produce them..
globally the amount has to be staggering.

 

There is a company that is making cellulose based plastic bags which show a lot of promise.

 

some stores only use plastic though; I recycle mine or reuse them.

 

yeah, i save all the ones i use and take them back to the store to be recycled

 

Yeah I reuse all of mine, their last stop is as liners for the wastebaskets. That saves me from having to buy liners.

 

This is where I got my bags: <a href="http://go-againbags.com/">http://go-againbags.com/</a> (Or you could just make your own.)

Pretty cheap...it's like $14 for a dozen bags or something like that. It's so stupid that we waste our environment like we do when it's so easy not to. It doesn't make any sense.

 

Look Into Buying Canvas Bags And Bringing Them With You. eace:

 

I'm sorry, I could never stop using plastic bags.

 

My family saves most of ours, and I've started requesting that cashiers in stores not give them to me.

 

Why? The re-useable ones are larger, stronger, better for the environment, not likely to get clogged down the throat of marine life and some have cool logos on them - what more do you want? gold ones!
They can still be made of plastic if you wish

 

Wonderful. "Don't use paper! They deplete the trees that NEVER grow back! Use plastic instead!" -10 years later- "WHAT?? Stop using plastic!! It's.. bad for the environment I'm sure!"

Remind me to take a steel barrel with me next time I go shopping.. While it's still allowed.

 

my family reuses our plastic bags as trash can liners

and as a cashier i ALWAYS ask if the customer needs one. that way i'm not giving them to people who don't want them.

 

I quit keeping my pot in plastic so that cut my plastic bag consumption a bit.

 

http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080506/MULTIMEDIA02/80505016

Cloth is sooo much nicer all the way around.better for the environment,and added bonus fitting it all in two big STRONG bags instead of twenty little plastic ones-that you have to double bag or risk breaking.
...now If only I could remember to take them more often,instead of leaving them on the back of the chair from the last grocery trip

 

You really do not need to use plastic or paper bags. First of all, I hate when at the store they give a bag for one thing. I try to carry stuff or put it in my purse.. like when you're picking something up and going home, do you really need a bag??? And you can use any cloth bag at the grocery store or recycled bag. Its pretty easy. As for drugs there are glass jars

 

I hate using bags..it kills me. I have about 10 reusable organic cloth totes that I love and use everytime i grocery shop.. either that or I carry it out myself!

 

I hang mine next to the front door so I always see them on my way out.

 

,,,the back of the chair is right on top of the lightswith - next to the door,basically hanging from the front door...and I still sometimes forget. i am getting better bout it tho

 

We dont have very many grocery stores, we have walmart, you dont have much of a choice, and they finally have reusable bags you can purchase, but you cant go in and shop with you own bag, you have to buy thiers, whats messed up is, i have NEVER yet seen anyone use one. I would love to just bring my own in,. anytime you go into any store with your own bag, they think your going to steal.