Really. They suck big time. In fact, plastic bags are quite a bit like elevator music:
- they seemingly show up everywhere
- they hypnotize people into thinking they need them
- they make people spend money on stuff they don’t really need
- they sort of serve a purpose, but are doing a poor job of it
- there are vastly superior alternatives available
(If you want some less rant-like information about how plastic bags affect the environment, I recommend reading the posts that are sure to pop up in reply to Reduce Footprints’ challenge, reinforced on Adventures into green.)
In the above mentioned challenge, readers and bloggers alike are encouraged to refuse plastic bags for 7 days or write about why plastic bags are bad for the environment.
Instead of detailing the whys and hows of plastic bag pollution, my take on it will be some practical advice about how one might go about kicking a plastic bag habit.
Did you notice that? I said “plastic bag habit“.
That’s what it is – a habit. Ninety-nine percent of the time, there really is no need to accept the plastic bags you’re offered everywhere.
Here’s a quick list that should help you through a full week of plastic bag resistance, hopefully letting you emerge on the other side fully weaned of the habit:
- The next time you’re buying something, ask yourself: Do I really need a bag at all? If you’re just buying small stuff like a DVD or a bag of toilet paper, why not just carry it with your hands, bag-free?
- Buy several reusable bags for your shopping trips:
- Two or more large, sturdy ones for the planned, fill-up-your-cart shopping trips. Since you’ll be using these on planned trips, you can keep them at home. Alternately, a set of these bags for each of your family’s cars.
- One or two light-weight (but still reasonably durable) ones that fold easily into small packages. Keep these in your pocket, purse, briefcase or whatever. These are good for lighter loads on the way home from work.
- Always put the bags back where they belong once you’ve emptied them of their contents. Don’t worry, once you’ve nagged yourself into doing this for a little while, you’ll start doing it without conscious effort.
- Alternatively, if you keep your bags in your car and can’t be bothered to put them back there once they’re empty, hang them somewhere easily visible near the door and pick them up the next time you’re going to the car.
That’s all very well, you might say, but what will I use for my garbage when I no longer get plastic grocery bags?
Well, that’s easy to answer: You buy plastic bags and use those for your garbage.
Huh? Wasn’t the whole point getting rid of plastic bags? And now I want you to buy them?
Yes. And yes.
But I don’t want you to go out and buy any old roll of plastic garbage bags.
There are good alternatives to regular plastic trash bags. One of them are BioBag, um, bags.
BioBag makes trash bags from corn starch, fully compostable. There are also bags for your dog’s business.
PS: Speaking of business – albeit a very different kind of business than the kind mentioned in the above paragraph: If you work in or run a UK business and you’re having trouble getting started on “greening” it, you might want to contact greenhouse environmental management.
the green house (that’s how they spell their name, lower case and all) provides businesses with tailored waste management programs to minimise their waste output and costs. I don’t have any personal experience with them, but they seem to have a solid portfolio of previous customers.
{6 comments... read them below or add one }
This post was tagged with: garbage, plastic, plastic bag pollution, plastic bags, pollution, reusable bags, trash, waste
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Wonderful post … and thank you, so much, for participating in Change The World Wednesdays.
I love your tips … especially the one about getting the reusable bags back into the car after they have brought everything into the house. We fold ours up and put our car keys on top of them … no way can we leave without touching them.
Bringing them into the store is my downfall … I almost never remember to bring them in. So, I simply ask the “bag” person to put everything back into the basket and I bag it myself when I get to the car. It works!
“What will I use for the garbage can” is the biggest reason I hear for using plastic bags … thank you for offering a green alternative!
Have a great day!
By the way … your blog is wonderful. I’m following it and have added it to my “green” blog roll.
Take Care!
@Small Footprints: Thank you for your kind words
My biggest problem when switching to reusable bags was that I would automatically say yes when the sales clerk asked me if I wanted a bag, just out of old habit. Took a while to unlearn that
I hope you keep your Wednesday challenges up. I really enjoyed writing today’s post, and felt that extra little bit inspired to change my habits for the better.
Wonderful post again! Thank you for jumping in and taking the challenge!
Another little idea : If you MUST get a bag and have left your bags at home or in the car (how many times has my husband run back out????), ask for paper. Most grocery stores and big box stores STILL have paper bags. They are well hidden and you must ask for them, but they ARE there!
Do you drive a car? I am quite tired of preachy plastic bag people who drive cars. Cars are the worst thing there is for the environment. Give one up for a month and see how practical it is to carry around those reusable bags with you everywhere you go.
@DRG: Hi, DRG, thanks for commenting
I do drive a car on occasion. But not very often – I don’t own one myself.
I rent or borrow one a couple of times a year if I need to move something heavy or travel somewhere I can’t easily get to by other means. Other than that, I get around by walking or riding a bike or by bus or rail.
Which means I don’t rely on a car to carry my reusable bags around. I keep one or two light-duty ones in my jacket or backpack, and after a week or so of this I hardly noticed they were there.
Is it slightly less practical than just getting a couple of plastic bags at the store every time you shop? Absolutely. But not prohibitively so, considering the damage plastic bags cause.
And while I certainly agree that cars at least are one of the worst things for the environment, I don’t really see why that’s important in this context.
My take on the whole cars vs. plastic bags issue you bring up is:
Cars pollute. So do plastic bags. Both are problems that should be dealt with somehow.
The fact that one of these problems exists isn’t a good reason to ignore the other.
Not dealing with all the problems in the world at the same time doesn’t automatically devalue the effort that goes into dealing with one of them.