the Reasons to stop using plastic shopping bags

Posted Jul 17 2008, 06:17 PM by Karen Datko
Filed under: Spending, Saving, Karen Datko, Groceries
"Fox" at Squawkfox has taken up a cause we can strongly embrace: "It's time to sack plastic bags."
Shouldn't we all, with the price of oil -- yes, they're made with oil -- and environmental worries, be moving to reusable shopping bags and bins? Plastic shopping bags are blight, and they never -- for all practical purposes -- go away. "With few exceptions, plastic bags will take thousands of years to break down," Fox says. "The bag my first pair of shoes came in a couple decades ago is out there, somewhere."

Here are other good points to keep in mind:

1. Production Cost. The production of plastic bags requires petroleum and often natural gas, both non-renewable resources that can cost big production bucks over time.
2. City Cost. Both paper and plastic bags costs our cities millions. From recycling costs to processing in landfills .
3. Disposal and Litter Cost. In a landfill, plastic bags can take up to 1,000 years to degrade. Plastic bags don’t biodegrade, they photo-degrade, breaking down into smaller toxic pieces. Continuous management of the disposal and growth of the waste is an expensive business.
4. Ubiquitous. Everyone. Everywhere. Plastic and paper bags are everywhere. Nearly all of us use them, all the time. They are pervasive. Out of control. Disposable bags are a powerful symbol of consumerism gone mad. The over consumption of plastic and paper bags is ubiquitous.
5. Global Warming. Manufactured plastic and paper bags contribute to global warming. Paper bag production delivers a global warming double-whammy since forests (major absorbers of greenhouse gases) have to be cut down, and then the subsequent manufacturing of bags produces greenhouse gases.
6. Petroleum Depletion. It takes 0.48 MJ (megajoules) of energy to produce a plastic bag. An average car consumes 4.18 MJ in driving 1 km, or the equivalent of 7 plastic bags. We’re bagging the oil .
7. Loaded Landfills. One bag doesn’t take up much space, but millions do. Many cities are already having problems finding space for all their garbage. Reducing the volume of waste we produce means less new garbage dumps. I do indeed prefer parks over mounds of plastic.
8. Wildlife. Plastic bags are light, and can blow in the wind. They fly into trees and into wildlife habitat. Animals can consume these plastics, and perish. Plastic bags are a deadly killer to wildlife.
9. Marine Life. Over 100,000 marine animals are killed each year from plastic bags (source). Sea turtles, water birds, and other creatures mistake them for food or become entangled in them.In some parts of the ocean, there are six pounds of plastic for every pound of plankton.
10. Litter. We may think we’ve thrown out a plastic bag. Albeit, many blow out of trash cans and become litter. Some are carelessly tossed. They are an eyesore and scar the landscape.
11. Recycling not financially feasible. Apparently, only 1 to 3 percent of plastic bags are recycled. It costs a whopping $4,000 to process and recycle 1 ton of plastic bags, which can then be sold for a meager $32 This business model is a financial failure.
12. Recycling contamination. Of those bags that do reach recycling depots, the risk of plastic contamination is high. Melting the wrong plastics together can render the batch contaminated and unusable.
13. Flooding. Plastic bags littering our cities can end up blocking storm sewers. This contributed to recent flooding in Bangladesh and western India
14. Dependence on foreign oil. Plastic bags are made from oil, much of which is imported from overseas. Not depending on something coming from thousands of miles away is better way.
15. Carbon footprint. Producing plastic bags requires energy. Transporting bags to the store burns through more energy. Much of this energy is obtained by burning hydrocarbons, which releases carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere.
16. Plastic is forever. Almost every plastic bag you have touched in your lifetime still exists in some shape or form. With few exceptions, plastic bags will take thousands of years to break down. The bag my first pair of shoes came in a couple decades ago is out there, somewhere.
17. Bag production releases pollution. In addition to petroleum, the manufacture of bags uses dyes, plasticizers, and other toxic chemicals. Many of the byproducts of their manufacture ends up in the environment as pollution.
18. Chemical leaching. Dyes and other chemicals found in plastic bags contain lead, cadmium, and other toxins that leach out into the environment
19. Suffocation Hazzard. Ever read the warning on plastic bags? “This bag is not a toy and can cause suffocation of small children.” I’ve never seen this warning on a canvas reusable bag.

If u all aware about our problem,u all must be understand and know why should we stop using the plastic bag, it is in just may opinion:

@ It just keeps piling up. Every minute, every hour, every day. The consumer baggage keeps adding up. Going with reusable bags can help stop the needless plastic and paper bag pileup

@ One less bag. By using recyclable bags and bins, you actively contribute to solving the problem by using less plastic bags. One less bag, people.

@ List your own reason. This last point is for you to decide. What have I missed? What are your reasons for saying “NO” to plastic and paper bags at the grocery store?

Do you shop using reusable bins and bags? Any challenges? Any advice? Are you more of a plastic person? Would you consider making the switch? Share your littered thoughts in the comments……………