Battle of the Bag

Have you ever actually stopped to think about how many single-use plastic bags you use within a week, month, or a year's time? As you may or may not already know, plastic is almost indestructible. It resists degradation, and the process can take anywhere from 400-1,000 years.

The video, "Battle of the Bag", showed plastic bags in a different light. For those who are environmentally conscious, the amount of damage they cause comes as no surprise. Often times, plastic winds up on the seashores, where animals attempt to eat them in their daily hunt for food. Take into account the fact that sea turtles have a life span of about 100 years. About 60 percent of them have plastic bits in their stomachs, and die prematurely due to the complications.

On a global scale, this problem has affected humans in many different ways. In countries like China and Delhi, India, the government has attempted to manage this form of waste by banning it altogether under the Environmental Protection Act (EPA). Thin, single-use bags have been banned because of their impact on the environment due to the amount of waste produced. Plastic bags can even be found on the streets and countrysides in the poorest and most undeveloped countries in the world.

In Delhi, where cows are sacred and roam free, they will chew and eat entire plastic bags while grazing. This eventually accounts for their weight loss, and ultimately their death. This has caused Delhi to implement a special task force, whose sole purpose is to investigate and monitor retailers who are found using thin plastic bags, issuing fines and confiscating them when necessary.

Many of us have heard the popular phrase, "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle". Recycling efforts are largely unsuccessful in the United States, and in Canada only 1-3 percent of plastic bags are recycled. This problem has to be addressed on both the local and global scales in order to have a more lasting impact on the environment. As we consider this material which will outlive us for generations to come, we must begin to take actions to ensure that this problem is abated. Last year, the state of California made headlines in it's unsuccessful attempt to adopt such a ban.

Regardless of whether or not banning is considered to be the best solution, a great starting point for us as consumers to reduce and reuse is to purchase reusable shopping bags.

Felicia