Paper, or Plastic? That's a common question at most grocery stores.
88+ BILLION plastic bags are used each year in the U.S.
12 MILLION barrels of oil are used to produce those bags.
LESS than 1% of plastic bags in the U.S. get recycled.
UP TO 1,000 Years are needed to decompose plastic bags.
Plastic bags don't bio-degrade... they photo-degrade, breaking down into toxic bits that contaminate soil and waterways, eventually entering the food chain.
Paper bags aren't necessarily better. They take more energy to produce, and transport because they are bulkier.
What IF we all started taking reuseable cloth bags to the store(s), and refused plastic bags? Clerks could then ask, "Did you bring your bags today?"
San Francisco and Oakland have banned plastic bags. Other cities like Boston, Baltimore, Annapolis, Portland, Santa Monica, Santa Cruz and Steamboat Springs are considering similar measures. In Ireland, a 20-cent per bag "plastax" has cut plastic bag usage by more than 90%.
I carry a cloth bag filled with more bags in my truck. What do YOU do?
Paper, or Plastic?
Want to join? Register here. Already signed up? Click here to login!