Single-Use Plastic Bags

I would like to continue looking at alternatives to using plastic in our daily lives by considering single-use plastic bags.

A few key points from the video:

1. 95% of the negative environmental footprint of plastic bags occurs prior to their use and disposal.

2. People in the US alone dispose of over 100,000,000,000 plastic bags each year.

3. Reuse of bags, regardless of type, is key.

One thing that may come as a surprise is that reusable cloth bags have the biggest negative environmental impact in terms of production and must be reused approximately 131 times (which equates to weekly use for 2 1/2 years) in order to be a more environmentally friendly option than 1 plastic bag. Paper bags must be reused only about 3 times to have the same impact.

Objective: Assess the types of bags (plastic, paper, and cloth) that you have at home and only use these bags when going out; avoid purchasing any new bags regardless of type. If you must get new bags, opt for paper bags (optimally those that have a FSC certification. Also, try to avoid using plastic bags provided in the grocery store produce section to carry fruits and vegetables; these you will likely not reuse.