9. Reusable bags - beyond the grocery store
I will only use reusable shopping bags and will implement a system to make this work.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
Single use plastic and paper bags are a serious problem for our environment. According to The World Counts, we use five trillion plastic bags per year worldwide, which is over 700 a year for every person on the planet; and they are predominantly made from Polyethylene, which takes centuries to degrade. In the US, manufacturing plastic bags requires approximately 2.2 billion pounds of fossil fuel as well as 3.9 billion gallons of fresh water annually, while producing 2.7 million tons of carbon dioxide and a billion pounds of solid waste. Over 100,000 marine animals are killed by plastic bags each year.
Manufacturing paper bags uses about 14 million trees each year. Producing paper bags also requires a lot of fossil fuels, creates a substantial amount of waste, uses a significant amount of water and generates extensive greenhouse gases, with one study showing higher amounts of all of these pollution and consumption problems from paper bags than from polyethylene bags. A New York Times article agrees that “it takes significantly more energy to create pulp and manufacture a paper bag than it does to make a single-use plastic bag from oil.”
So “neither” is the answer to the “single use paper or plastic” question. It is time to go all-in on reusable bags. Your reusables aren’t just for the grocery store; you can take them to the pharmacy, bookstore, mall, and convenience stores - everywhere you shop.
TAKING ACTION!
There are many great reusable shopping bags from which to choose. To read some “best of” lists, click here (New York Times), here (the spruce) and here (Good Housekeeping). The key question is: which ones are you most likely to use? For some, the answer is: light, attractive and compact. For others it is: sturdy and obvious. Choose wisely! Also, remember to bring reusable produce bags with you too. See Commitment 9 for more information about this.
Then…the key is to use them – every time. Using reusable bags need to become a habit, which takes determination and repetition. In the beginning this can be hard to do. Here are a few suggestions:
Keep several bags near your door (for when you walk, bike, or take the bus to the store) and / or in your car.
Before you go shopping, ask yourself, do I have my bags? Putting a note on your door can help in the beginning.
If driving, put your bags in a place where you see them and won’t forget them (the passenger seat or the passenger floor, for example).
If you get to the door of the store and don’t have them, go back for them. It will become a habit.
ADDITIONAL MOTIVATIONAL THOUGHTS
Single use bags are not free. A California analysis found that the average household paid $17 every year in higher grocery prices to cover the cost of single use bags.
Watch this four-minute mockumentary video about the life of a plastic bag before it ends up in the massive Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch. “The Majestic Plastic Bag – A Mockumentary.”
In the middle of the North Pacific Ocean on Midway Atoll, the largest albatross colony in the world, a multitude of birds have been found dead due to the ingestion of plastic bag remnants.
