Daily Greenz #156

With the popularization of reusable bags by celebrities and mainstream clothing and accessories brands, there’s now hardly a soul unaware that using plastic bags is far from eco-friendly. But exactly how bad are they? Bangladesh banned them four years ago. Beginning June 1, they’ll be banned in China. And last year, San Francisco was the first U.S. city to prohibit their distribution in supermarkets and chain pharmacies. So what’s behind these bans? Firstly, their production requires valuable, non-renewable petroleum, and lots of it – 12 million barrels of it, to be exact. Secondly, the roughly 100 billion plastic bags we use here in the U.S. take up to 1,000 years to begin to decompose, and they don’t biodegrade. Rather, they photodegrade, meaning they break down into small, toxic bits that end up contaminating soil and waterways over and over again. 

Hundreds of thousands of marine animals,
birds, and livestock die each year when they mistake discarded plastic
bags for food. These are only a few of the reasons why banning plastic
bags makes so much sense. Reusable bags, in addition to being much
better for the environment, can hold much more weight than flimsy
disposables. And the over-the-shoulder design and thicker
handles/straps of many reusable bags make carrying heavier loads much
more comfortable. We particularly like Bag the Habit’s Modern Shopper,
$8, for carrying everything from groceries to books. It’s
recyclable and made from recycled content to boot. For smaller loads,
check out Envirosax’s Organic Shoppers, $24.50, which are made of a
bamboo-linen blend and printed with vegetable based ink.

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