Happy (late) International Plastic Bag-Free Day! 6/3/11

In light of my current project on plastic bags, I wanted to wish you all a late Plastic Bag-Free Day. Consumers should do this every day, but July 3rd was declared by the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives as the day to pledge not to use plastic bags. This organization encourages individuals and organizations to eliminate single-use plastic bags in their communities and office buildings. As a result, this organization is hoping to compile a list of photos, information, and pledges against the use of plastic bags and why it is so important for us citizens to eliminate them.

We have all seen the signs at grocery stores: PAPER, NOT PLASTIC, PLEASE USE RE-USEABLE BAGS, RECYCLE PLASTIC BAGS. Places such as San Francisco, Los Angeles County, and Sams Club stores across the United States have taken the plunge and banned the use of plastic bags, have began to give discounts to customers who are using reusable bags, or started charging for the use of bags at all. Why, you might ask, are plastic bags bad to use? For one thing, they harm the environment. Not only is plastic not biodegradable; when plastic is recycled into something else, it remains plastic and ends up in land fills and oceans around the world. Also, producing plastic bags consumes millions of gallons of fossil fuels that could be used somewhere else.

All in all, you should use a reusable bag! It saves marine life, prevents plastic from clogging our landfills, and is better for the environment. There are thousands of different designs! I own the following bags: Wawa, COWS, Lululemon, Phillies, Penn State and a variety of others from grocery stores including Target, Wegmans, and Trader Joes. The best part is, they only cost between 1 and 3 dollars usually, and they are very durable.

Another option to consider is to stop the use of plastic sandwich and snack bags for lunches. This website has great alternative fabric bags, and they are even dishwasher safe! I found another website (here) which shows you step by step how to make them yourself. Save the planet, don’t buy or use plastic.

For more information, refer to this article.
Celebrate Plastic Bag Independence with Mother Nature Net.
For more info on plastic bags and why they are a detriment to the environment, follow @abagslife, @banthebag, @stopplasticbags.