My first real job - as a checker in a grocery store - was back in the day when customers took their purchases home in paper bags or cardboard boxes. Now, most Americans carry all kinds of goods away in plastic shopping bags without considering the environmental consequences or realizing that there are good alternatives.
I have the shopping-bag blues because most are used only once.
The average number of plastic shopping bags each American takes home per month is 27. The vast majority of bags end up in local landfills after just one use, but many "escape" en route because they are so aerodynamic. They're blowin' in the wind. You'll see those escapees rolling along in the breeze, earning the nickname "urban tumbleweeds." Especially in winter months when greenery has died back, I see them stuck in trees and fences, and I take time to collect them because they will outlive us. We are biodegradable; they are not.
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Carol Jo Morgan is ready to shop with a reusable grocery bag made from a rabbit-feed sack by Leslie Kimble.
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They just break down into smaller pieces, which contaminate soil and cause animals and ecosystems to suffer. Land and marine animals, which mistake them for food, suffocate or starve when they ingest whole bags and small bits. The bags can enter waterways through drainage, sometimes clogging drains and causing flooding. Finally, the bags are petroleum products, made using this limited non-renewable resource.
Recycling is one way to chase away the plastic-bag blues.
Check with your hauler before putting any bags in your curbside recycling bin. Some (including ABC Sanitary and Green Purpose) accept them but others do not! Next, check bags for the triangular "chasing arrows" recycling symbol bearing the number 2 or 4, and be sure that bags are clean and dry. When in doubt about whether your hauler will accept and recycle them, you can deposit them - again, after checking whether number 2 and 4 are both accepted - in your grocery store's collection bins, usually located near the entry doors.
Reusing plastic shopping bags helps, too.
Lots of people use them once more as waste bags for pet poop, dirty diapers and trash can liners or to protect things (like library books) from water and dirt. At The I.D.E.A. Store, you can see how they have been made into plastic yarn or "plarn" to be knitted or crocheted into washable place mats and bigger, better new shopping bags that can still be recycled when they wear out! Although you can donate plastic bags to some local organizations for reuse, The I.D.E.A. Store welcomes used paper bags instead for customers to use to carry home their purchases.
Try to remember to bring your own cloth bags!
Reducing plastic (and paper) shopping-bag use is best accomplished by the BYOB (Bring Your Own [Cloth] Bag) method. I have used strong cotton bags for years. Grocery store baggers recommend washable, sturdy bags with rectangular, flat bottoms, which are easiest to load with your purchases. The I.D.E.A. Store carries a variety of fabrics you could use to make your own reusable totes. One way to make a feed sack tote!
Join the discussion.
City of Champaign Recycling Coordinator Angela Adams asks for citizen input about ways (including a plastic-bag ban or fee for paper and plastic bags) to reduce use of these bags in our community. You can take the online survey.
