How To Ditch The Plastic Bags

Here are some easy things we can all do to cut the usage of plastic bags

Get ideas on how to ditch the plastic bags from your life with a few small changes that are easy to adapt to every lifestyle.  How to start?  Here are some user-friendly suggestions  that you can try in your daily lives.

Ditch the plastic bags and pick up something reusable.

In 2002, Bangladesh banned the use of plastic bags after the city sewers became plugged by them.  In Ireland forcing people to pay for plastic bags decreased usage by 90%.   The governments of Tanzania, Rwanda, Taiwan, and Singapore discourage free distribution of plastic bags.  South Africa began requiring manufacturers to make them more durable so they can be reused.  Denmark and Italy imposed a stiff tax on them.  The UK runs a public information campaign urging the public to use them less.  In America?  Millions of these bags are distributed every day and it’s free!

Half a century has passed since the first plastic bags were introduced in food packaging in the United States. In 1957 they were considered to be an effective and affordable product.   In 2007 the amount of damage they caused to the environment led many countries to spend huge amounts of money to reduce their use.

It will take 400 to 1000 years for each bag to breakdown and along the way they will succeed in shortening the lives of some 100,000 whales, birds, seals, and turtles every year.

Even before the bags are tossed into the environment,  the production process in creating them causes air pollution, unnecessary energy consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions. Not to mention the plastic bag is a byproduct of oil.

It’s estimated that tens of millions of plastic bags are given out to consumers in the U.S. daily.  There are cities scattered across the states who have taken the initiative to ban plastic bags in their communities. We hope these bag banning initiatives will be brought to a national level across the country.  Meanwhile, the environment pays the price of the bags we get for free.

Ideas to help you ditch plastic bag use:

 Go to the supermarket with cloth bags or a large basket and do not take the plastic bags that are distributed free of charge.

Keep your cloth bags/baskets in the car or near the front door so you remember to bring them! Forgetting the reusable bags at home is a common reason for not using bags.  (if you do forget, ask for paper instead of plastic)

Ask your grocers for their used cardboard boxes to pack your groceries into when checking out. (costco style)

Do not use plastic bags for carrying products in large packages with carrying handles, such as disposable diapers, toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergents, etc.

Reuse plastic bags as garbage sacks in small trash cans around your house like the bathroom.

Bags instead of one – time thin nylon , used several times thicker plastic food bags closing cost long – time ( Offer )

Reuse high-quality bags from clothing stores which are often made stronger and work well for repeated usage.

There are many simple ways to save ourselves from plastic bags and once you start adapting these practices you will find it’s quite easy and feels good to find there’s something you can do on a daily basis to help with the plastic bag dilemma.

by marquette_magazine