Naturally Speaking from Lake MetroParks

[natrulee]

You don't have to do everything, but you should do something.

Next time the supermarket cashier asks "paper or plastic?" respond with "Neither, I have my own."

Reusable bags reduce consumption and as a result promote "waste wise" customers.  When consumption is reduced so is the impact on the environment.

Reusable shopping bags replace the disposable plastic and paper bags that end up in the trash, landfills and environment for up to 1,000 years after one use.  Each reusable shopping bag you use has the potential to eliminate hundreds, if not thousands, of paper an plastic bags over it's lifetime.

Each reusable bag can replace four plastic bags each time it is used.  When it is used once a week for two years, it will prevent 416 bags from being sent to landfills.

Most reusable shopping bags are 100% recyclable, durable, resistant to corrosion, hypoallergenic, odorless, non-toxic, water repellent and washable.

• Plastic bags don't biodegrade, they photodegrade-breaking down into smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and entering the food web when animals accidentally ingest.
• The petroleum in 14 plastic bags could drive a car one mile.
• According to the EPA, 70% more global warming gases are emitted making a paper bag than a plastic bag.
• In 1999, the American Forest and Paper Association reported that Americans used 10 billion paper bags, consuming 14 million trees.
• The 380 billion plastic bags that Americans throw away each year are made from millions of barrels of petroleum, contributing to global warming, depleting oil supplies and driving up costs of petroleum-based products like gasoline and energy for our homes.
• It is estimated that 100,000 marine animals are killed annually by plastic bags.  In some parts of the ocean, there are six pounds of plastic for every pound of plankton.

[KeeKee77]

Jul. 6, 2008 at 7:56 PM

Oh no!  This one makes me the saddest...

It is estimated that 100,000 marine animals are killed annually by plastic bags.  In some parts of the ocean, there are six pounds of plastic for every pound of plankton.

But if I don't get my plastic bags from the grocery store, what do I use for my poopy diaper bags?  =(

At least I'm recycling the bags, right?