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MNN Nest pledge: 'I will actually use my reusable bags'
Some cities ban plastics altogether, while some stores offer incentives for using reusables. Reusable bags cut down on the amount of petroleum used to produce plastic ones and the staggering number of bags going to landfills each year.
Tue, Jul 03 2012 at 8:48 AM
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Photo: tbd/iStockphoto
Hello there, and welcome to another pledge in MNN's Nest, an interactive program that helps you create and accomplish easy and Earth-friendly personal goals. With each goal that you tackle, you earn points that are then turned into donations to your favorite nonprofit eco-charity.
The personal goal currently up to bat: avoid plastic shopping bags and actually use those reusable bags on a daily basis. Like recycling bottles and cans at home and swapping out incandescent bulbs for CFLs, this first goal be a no-brainer for many of you — eco-elementary, as we like to say — but like any seemingly simple step in greening your life, it's easier said than done. Here are a few thoughts on how and why you should go about ditching plastic shopping bags for reusable ones:
Train yourself to BYOB: One reason why you might not use a reusable bag while you're out shopping is because, well, you don't have one on you. Don't let that be your excuse — keep a stash in your car, by the front door at home, in your office, or wadded up in the bottom of your purse or day bag. You wouldn't go shopping without cash money (or that money-saving rewards card), would you? Before you head out the door, remind yourself to bring your own reusable bags. And remember, as we at MNN can attest, shopping isn't always a premeditated action, so in the event of a spontaneous purchase, it helps to have an emergency bag handy.
Being a bag lady or lad will save you money: You might have noticed that plastic shopping bags aren't doled out as readily as they once were. Thanks to an increasing number of eco-conscious retailers — IKEA truly spearheaded this movement — it will cost you a fee, usually 5 cents, to carry out your purchases in a plastic bag. Other retailers like Target and Whole Foods don't tack on a surcharge for using their shopping bags but will reward you for bringing your own by knocking a few cents off your purchase. Some cities such as San Francisco have even placed an outright ban on plastic shopping bags while others like Washington, D.C., have enacted or are considering ordinances that will require retailers to charge for them. So you see, you can actually save a few cents here and there by using your reusable bag.
Keep Mother Nature happy: Why exactly is it important to constantly tote around a tote? As estimated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, around 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps are consumed by Americans annually. Worldwide, we consume almost 1 million plastic bags per minute. Millions upon millions of these bags are not recycled properly and end up in the landfills where they sit and sit and sit ... for thousands of years. In addition to clogging landfills and littering the natural landscape from sea to shining sea, plastic bags are the product of you guessed it, oil — a polluting, nonrenewable resource if there ever was one. And here's a staggering figure: it requires 12 billion barrels of oil to produce 100 billion plastic shopping bags.
Ready to do away with plastic bags once and for all? Then repeat after me: This year, I will avoid plastic shopping bags and actually use reusable bags on a daily basis. Now go put this pledge into action!
Sources:
Alternet, "The Green Plastic Bag Plague"
Reusablebags.net, "The Numbers ... Believe It Or Not"
National Geographic, "Are Plastic Grocery Bags Sacking the Environment?"
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Paper and plastic grocery bags could soon cost you"
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Paper and plastic grocery bags could soon cost you"
More personal pledges to consider:
- Once a week, I will walk one place instead of driving.
- I will make my home more energy-efficient.
- I will get my kids (and myself!) outside more this year.
- I will do a toxin audit of my home.
- I will support my town's local and green businesses this year.
- I will eat more meals at home.
- I will read three environmentally themed books this year.
- Instead of throwing them away, I will recycle my old electronics before buying new ones.
You can sign up for The Nest now!
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Growing up in Europe we always used our own bags, or one had to pay for one. Bottles where always returned for refund. This was over 30 years ago. When I immigrated to the USA , I Was perplext at the masses of recycle thrown into the garbage. I still am,!!
What will it take to be more responsible ??
I always reuse my carrier bags as there are too many out there to start with, i live in the united kingdom and some supermarkets limit the number of bags you can use, some others charge anything from 10p to 30p
'I will actually use my reusable bags' was one of pledges.. We as the family actually started doing it more frequently.. thanks mnn.com
the post is a useful reminder.
My local blog posted a pattern for making bags out of old t-shirts and I tried it. It works! Cut off sleeves, notch bottom edge and tie knots, and you have a bag!
We keep our reusables in the car, and it's a small victory every time I use them. It makes absolutely zero sense not to. Being a crocheter, when I do forget my bags (it happens), I save the plastic ones to make into plarn.
It was difficult at the beginning- convenience was my achilles heel but soon decided to make a concertive effort n now not a second thought n in fact have showed baggers ways to pack groceries what a hoot !!
My canvas bag almost always leaves home with me, with another bag inside made of plastic bottles. I also keep a Chico bag in my purse, just in case of an impulse purchase. The only time I get a bag from the store is when I need one for recyclables.
I try to remember to carry one as much as possible in case I make an unexpected stop somewhere, but still forget quite a bit. Since I make frequent trips to the grocery store, it is not uncommon for the security guard to watch me walk out the door with my purchases balanced carefully in my arms with my receipt dangling between two fingers.
I'm glad that my city started to implement a 10 cent tax for using plastic bags at the grocery store. It seems more and more people are bringing their own bags.
I've done this. I have a foldie that stays in my backback, a stash of reusables in both of our cars, and 2 in the entryway to grab on the way out just in case!
However, the little pledge site thing has a checkbox for completing it but I can't click it. It just bounces off. Am I supposed to be able to "check" or "complete" it like it's a tracked quest?
The local supermarket charges 15cents a bag, great way to discourage users to purchase them and use alternative methods.
I've been using my own bags for years at my s'market and health food markets, but sometimes shop at department stores, etc. I keep and reuse those [plastic] bags for w'basket liners. Also, use them for dinner guests to take out food (from my home), and also from church. I have bags from Good Foods Coop, Whole Foods, Fresh Market, Kroger, even my hated W'Mart, and from Giant, Safeway, etc. (while traveling)
Welcome! It sounds like you are already great at using your reusable bags!
Welcome Pat! Good for you remembering your bags and taking some to share!
hi, I am a new member and I am proud to say I have been using my own bags since Earth Day 1992. I still have the bag! I never take plastic and when I do I recycle them a.s.a.p.. I also carry extra bags to give away to friends. It's so easy to do and it makes you feel like your are making a difference.
Previously out of work, do not provide the bag in the supermarket to buy their own cloth bags every time you go out and buy things with it, can wash reuse dirty. This habit has continued to the present, very good.
Financial incentive...Did you know? The "free" plastic bag costs your city/county on average 17 cents per bag to dispose of. In California the average person uses 288 bags per year. That works out to almost $48 per year per person that could be spent on infrastructure projects like roads or schools or libraries.
Plastic bags are bad, no matter what they are made of.....
Please, please ... for the last time, plastic bags manufactured in the U.S. are a product of natural gas, not petroleum, and their manufacture has no effect on petroleum/oil or the price/availability of such.
Hi Pauline~Plastic bags in some cases are made of a by product of petroleum, ethylene, and in some cases natural gas. The latter often requires fracking in order to reach the natural gas. Both are considered a finite resource, and therefore how we choose to use either or both warrants consideration. That is one reason why the reduction of the production of plastic bags is not just an environmental one, but also an economic one.
your source? also, are all plastic bags used in the states produced here? i find that hard to believe.
I ALWAYS use plastic bags as bin liners. If the contents in the bag is messy (like when we buy meat) I flush the bag with water and place the bag, inside out and upside down, on a stick to dry out in the garden.
hey these fabric bags, man i just love them! don't worry if it's overloaded & ready to burst dropping glass jars,fresh vegetables,and cans all over the sidewalk it never happens best of all if it starts to reek from leaky packaging the throw it in with the dirty s and it comes out fresh and ready for more groceries.
Using cloth bags makes sense when you consider that it is a one time investment. unlike paying for plastic bags each time - and then throwing the plastic away.
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