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Step 7Get informed
I feel very strongly about the need to reduce the numbers of disposable bags we all use. There are serious effects throughout the lifecycle of these bags. From production, to transportation, to disposal, It is staggering to try and wrap your mind around the statistics involved. I hope that you'll read what I've written here, maybe check out a few of the links I've included at the bottom and seriously consider carrying your own bag. Just think of the difference you could make, even if you reduce just some of the bags you carry home.
- Plastic or paper bags are not really free. The cost of these bags is figured in when the store sets the prices on their product. Reducing the number of bags a store has to buy will reduce their cost, which they can pass on to you.
-According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually. An estimated 12 million barrels of oil is required to make that many plastic bags.
- Most plastic bags are made from polyethylene, which is made from crude oil and natural gas, nonrenewable resources.
-There are no wide-spread recycling programs for plastic bags, it would cost too much for too little result.
- 47% of wind borne litter escaping from landfills is plastic and much of this is plastic bags.
What about the paper bags?
-Paper comes from trees (obvious, I know)
-Most paper bags are made from virgin materials (not recycled) or with a very small recycled content because recycled paper is generally not as strong.
-Paper bags weigh more than plastic and therefore require more resources to transport
- It takes more than four times as much energy to manufacture a paper bag as it does to manufacture a plastic bag.
Energy required to produce bags (in British thermal units): Plastic bags: 594 BTU; Paper bags: 2511 BTU.
Here are a few links to learn some more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_shopping_bag
http://www.ilea.org/lcas/franklin1990.html
http://www.planetark.org/campaignspage.cfm/newsid/52/newsDate/7/story.htm
http://conserveplasticbags.blogspot.com/search/label/reusable%20bags
http://noplasticbags.blogspot.com/search/label/reusable%20bags
- Plastic or paper bags are not really free. The cost of these bags is figured in when the store sets the prices on their product. Reducing the number of bags a store has to buy will reduce their cost, which they can pass on to you.
-According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually. An estimated 12 million barrels of oil is required to make that many plastic bags.
- Most plastic bags are made from polyethylene, which is made from crude oil and natural gas, nonrenewable resources.
-There are no wide-spread recycling programs for plastic bags, it would cost too much for too little result.
- 47% of wind borne litter escaping from landfills is plastic and much of this is plastic bags.
What about the paper bags?
-Paper comes from trees (obvious, I know)
-Most paper bags are made from virgin materials (not recycled) or with a very small recycled content because recycled paper is generally not as strong.
-Paper bags weigh more than plastic and therefore require more resources to transport
- It takes more than four times as much energy to manufacture a paper bag as it does to manufacture a plastic bag.
Energy required to produce bags (in British thermal units): Plastic bags: 594 BTU; Paper bags: 2511 BTU.
Here are a few links to learn some more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_shopping_bag
http://www.ilea.org/lcas/franklin1990.html
http://www.planetark.org/campaignspage.cfm/newsid/52/newsDate/7/story.htm
http://conserveplasticbags.blogspot.com/search/label/reusable%20bags
http://noplasticbags.blogspot.com/search/label/reusable%20bags
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