After unpacking from a long day of grocery shopping, Tracy tosses the crumpled ball of plastic bags in a heap, without a second thought. As she absentmindedly peers into her refrigerator, she makes a mental note to throw out the growing pile of plastic bags stuffed in an old cardboard box, in her kitchen. Little did it occur to her that those seemingly useless shopping bags could be a treasure trove of savings for her pocket and the environment, with just a little imagination!
With so many items available and with so many vendors eager to sell a host of products that range from the mundane to the ridiculous, from the necessities to the luxurious; it is no wonder we have become known as a materialistic society, the ‘throw away’ generation.
Environmental Impact
All this shopping has an impact in an area that is not often thought of: the large scale production, distribution, and discarding of plastic shopping bags, a by-product of commercial excursions. These single use shopping bags may range from the pedestrian-looking, standard ‘thin gauge’ plastic bags, to the high end retail store ‘low density’ plastic bags with fancy gilded letters and intricate designs.
According to the Earth Policy Institute, it is estimated worldwide that a shocking one trillion plastic bags are used and discarded each year, almost two bags per minute! On top of that, each bag has a lifespan of 20 to 1000 years before it is broken down into the environment. This staggering amount of plastic refuse, directly contributes to a host of environmental problems. These include blocked drainage systems; respiratory conditions such as asthma, from the burning of these bags; overflowing non-biodegradable landfills; and the inadvertent killing of marine and land wildlife who may get entangled in or eat plastic bags.
Eco-Friendly Option
What can be done to offset the harmful human and environmental impact of using plastic bags? Go green! Many stores have provided environmentally friendly options known as eco-friendly bags. These bags, carry-all totes for daily errands, are reusable, more durable, and have a low impact on the environment, as they are made with natural biodegradable fibres.
Customers are able to purchase large, durable and well-crafted fibre- woven tote bags; to save the cost of purchasing, consider constructing your own shopping bags from string, burlap, jute, polyester, and non- woven polypropylene fabric.
8 Ways to Recycle Plastic Bags
Despite these environmentally friendly options, there is still a great deal of plastic bags lying around in our homes from prior purchases. This is where good old fashioned recycling comes in! Opt to re-use these plastic bags in innovative ways, thus stretching the value of their dollar, getting the most usage out of these bags and reducing the impact on the environment.
1. Use plastic bags to store garbage: instead of tossing out an empty shopping bag, use it to dispose of garbage by turning the bags into garbage bin liners or hanging them in your kitchen to handily dispose of rubbish. Recycling and a tidy kitchen? Win!
2. Keep a stash of neatly folded plastic bags in the car for emergencies (such as road trip motion sickness), as readymade garbage bags to keep the car tidy, or to store leaking or messy items you may be travelling with.
3. For the beauty conscious, use these bags as makeshift conditioning caps. I promise, they work just as well (your hair follicles can’t tell the difference) and you would have saved the money otherwise spent on buying fancy conditioning caps.
4. Moving? Use the plastic bags to wrap your fragile keepsakes. That intricate stained glass lampshade from Grandma’s great, great grandmother, will thank you!
5. Have pets? Plastic bags make a handy and inexpensive makeshift glove for cleaning up Muffin’s little muffins! Simply place your hand inside it, fasten at the wrists, and get to work!
6. Feeling generous? Plastic bags are great for packing unused clothes for donation to charity. Neatly place items inside the plastic bag, label, secure, and let the giving begin!
To continue reading, purchase Vol.8 #8, 2016 Issue.
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After unpacking from a long day of grocery shopping, Tracy tosses the crumpled ball of plastic bags in a heap, without a second thought. As she absentmindedly peers into her refrigerator, she makes a mental note to throw out the growing pile of plastic bags stuffed in an old cardboard box, in her kitchen. Little did it occur to her that those seemingly useless shopping bags could be a treasure trove of savings for her pocket and the environment, with just a little imagination!
With so many items available and with so many vendors eager to sell a host of products that range from the mundane to the ridiculous, from the necessities to the luxurious; it is no wonder we have become known as a materialistic society, the ‘throw away’ generation.
Environmental Impact
All this shopping has an impact in an area that is not often thought of: the large scale production, distribution, and discarding of plastic shopping bags, a by-product of commercial excursions. These single use shopping bags may range from the pedestrian-looking, standard ‘thin gauge’ plastic bags, to the high end retail store ‘low density’ plastic bags with fancy gilded letters and intricate designs.
According to the Earth Policy Institute, it is estimated worldwide that a shocking one trillion plastic bags are used and discarded each year, almost two bags per minute! On top of that, each bag has a lifespan of 20 to 1000 years before it is broken down into the environment. This staggering amount of plastic refuse, directly contributes to a host of environmental problems. These include blocked drainage systems; respiratory conditions such as asthma, from the burning of these bags; overflowing non-biodegradable landfills; and the inadvertent killing of marine and land wildlife who may get entangled in or eat plastic bags.
Eco-Friendly Option
What can be done to offset the harmful human and environmental impact of using plastic bags? Go green! Many stores have provided environmentally friendly options known as eco-friendly bags. These bags, carry-all totes for daily errands, are reusable, more durable, and have a low impact on the environment, as they are made with natural biodegradable fibres.
Customers are able to purchase large, durable and well-crafted fibre- woven tote bags; to save the cost of purchasing, consider constructing your own shopping bags from string, burlap, jute, polyester, and non- woven polypropylene fabric.
8 Ways to Recycle Plastic Bags
Despite these environmentally friendly options, there is still a great deal of plastic bags lying around in our homes from prior purchases. This is where good old fashioned recycling comes in! Opt to re-use these plastic bags in innovative ways, thus stretching the value of their dollar, getting the most usage out of these bags and reducing the impact on the environment.
1. Use plastic bags to store garbage: instead of tossing out an empty shopping bag, use it to dispose of garbage by turning the bags into garbage bin liners or hanging them in your kitchen to handily dispose of rubbish. Recycling and a tidy kitchen? Win!
2. Keep a stash of neatly folded plastic bags in the car for emergencies (such as road trip motion sickness), as readymade garbage bags to keep the car tidy, or to store leaking or messy items you may be travelling with.
3. For the beauty conscious, use these bags as makeshift conditioning caps. I promise, they work just as well (your hair follicles can’t tell the difference) and you would have saved the money otherwise spent on buying fancy conditioning caps.
4. Moving? Use the plastic bags to wrap your fragile keepsakes. That intricate stained glass lampshade from Grandma’s great, great grandmother, will thank you!
5. Have pets? Plastic bags make a handy and inexpensive makeshift glove for cleaning up Muffin’s little muffins! Simply place your hand inside it, fasten at the wrists, and get to work!
6. Feeling generous? Plastic bags are great for packing unused clothes for donation to charity. Neatly place items inside the plastic bag, label, secure, and let the giving begin!
To continue reading, purchase Vol.8 #8, 2016 Issue.
Share this post: