Stop Using So Many Plastic Bags

by: Cabri Gordon

I can bet money that within the last few days, you have gone grocery shopping. With Thanksgiving passing and Christmas around the corner, I’m sure you had to stock up on a few items.

Think about the amount of groceries you purchased. Now think about how many plastic bags you used to get these items to the car.

Perhaps one or two bags, maybe four or five? No big deal, right? I mean, what does it matter how many bags you used? Who’s counting?

Well, you should be.

According to reference site ThoughtCo, “Americans dispose of more than 100 billion plastic bags every year, and only a fraction are ever recycled.”

So, what happens to all these non-recycled bags?

Well, because they are not biodegradable, meaning they are unable to be broken down by bacteria or other living organisms, they begin to pollute the soil and water.

These bags begin to seep into our soil and release toxic chemicals. Not only that, but animals often fatally mistake them for food.

According to the organization Animal Friends Croatia, “as plastic bags can take up to 1,000 years to break down, once an animal dies and decays after ingesting plastic, the plastic is then freed back into the marine environment to carry on killing other wildlife.”

If not consumed by other animals, they end up collecting in trash deposits around the world.

The unfortunate truth of it all is that many do not think about where their bags go once they are thrown away. 

That is why it is important to be mindful how many bags you take with you from the store.

A way to combat this issue is to utilize reusable bags. These bags are made from renewable material that would help conserve natural resources.

If you feel like your world would be turned upside down if you do not use plastic bags, then just be sure to recycle them. Several grocery stores collect their bags and even recycle them for you.

There is really no excuse to carelessly get bags at the store and not find some way to recycle them.

Do not contribute to the declining ecosystem. 

Make it a habit to use fewer plastic bags or simply purchase a reusable one.