Why Use Eco Friendly Reusable Bags?

Reusable Grocery bags and Reusable Shopping bags can help better the world, for starters...

But there is a long way to go.  The David Suzuki Organization cites that, “more than one million plastic bags are used every minute, with an even higher number being produced.”

So what is the problem?  Hmm, where do we begin...  Suzuki, one of the original proponents of Reusable Bags (aka Eco Friendly Bags) sums it up with:  “These plastic bags are entangling and killing marine life, and their ‘microplastic’ pieces are leaching into the ground and contaminating crops.” 

But really, that is the tip of the proverbial plastic bag iceberg.  And if we’re not careful our society will be the Titanic that collides with it. 

Why do Reusable Bags win over plastic bags?

Limiting Excess Garbage

-Eco Friendly Bags can be used over and over again.  The best ones will be durable enough to last years.

-Most plastic bags are used once, for a few brief moments and then thrown away.  If properly disposed of (meaning, put into the garbage) they will end up in landfills, where they may take eons to decompose.  And that is the best case scenario…  In developing countries, where there are no sophisticated waste management systems, rubbish heaps are turning into `waste mountains.`  

Interference with Habitats

-Carelessly discarded plastic bags are carried ‘any way the wind blows’ and can end up in forests, fields and bodies of water.  In other words, they end up in the habitat of wildlife. This wildlife may eat the bags (to very bad results) or can get tangled in them.  

-Reusable Bags tend to be gingerly stored under the kitchen sink, where they remain until they are needed next.

Society’s Oil Dependence

-To fuel current production demands for plastic bags in the United States, about 12 million barrels of oil are needed yearly.  In Canada, about 1.5 million barrels of oil a year are needed to fuel the 10 billion plastic bags of use. 

-Eco Friendly Bags employ post-consumer recycled plastic, putting them to new use.

Damage to Marine Life

-The `Great Pacific Garbage Patch’ is a swirling heap of debris that floats in the middle of the Pacific and threatens marine life and ecosystems.  Guess what it’s full of?  Plastic!  Satellite images compare the size of the patch to the state of Texas.  Beached whales are being found with all kinds of plastics in their systems, but no Eco Friendly Bags.

Environmental Damage

-Pollution leads to contaminated water and soil and therefore damaged ecosystems (which we are a part of.)  Sewage backups can result from plastic bags blocking drains, gutters and sewers.

-Green Bags keep things green!

Malaria

-In a United Nations Environmental Project (UNEP) report, Kenya`s Environment Minister (Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Mathaai) links plastic bag litter with malaria.  Discarded bags fill with rainwater and offer a fabulous breeding ground for the malaria-carrying mosquitoes that kill thousands every year.  

-This critical issue has led to a swell of support for Reusable Bags. 

Waste management lessons from around the world are finally being heeded.  The plastic bag has been internationally busted, resulting in bans, fines, surcharges, tax levies, public awareness campaigns and public spurning.  And this is leading to the happy blooming of Eco Friendly Bags

Besides saving us from the very real threats and realities listed above, there are other advantages to Green Bags.  Using Eco Friendly Bags says that you care about reducing waste and environmental impact.  Businesses dispensing Reusable Bags quickly get a positive reputation as being responsible and ‘green.’  Creating reusable grocery bags or reusable shopping bags for your business offers the added bonus of a little self-promotion.  And, unlike the plastic bag, that never hurt anyone…