Do you still use plastic when shopping or bring your own bags. Over the last few years I have personally collected about 50 or so reusable bags. Some I use and some I’ve passed on to others (like my mother) to use when shopping. When I started using reusable bags Whole Foods Market was still using some plastic, so it’s been a while. I think that was the first store I am aware of that started using reusable bags; now you can find reusable bags in almost every mainstream grocery store throughout the US. This is fantastic, but it’s still not enough.
If we can band together and share information to educate others about how using plastic is affecting our environment, maybe all stores and consumers will get on board and STOP USING PLASTIC!
Did you know that over 1 trillion plastic bags are used and discarded every year worldwide? Plastic bags are nonbiodegradable and responsible for unsightly litter, flooding, the degradation of soil, creating an unnecessary expense for businesses, wasting petroleum and causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands of animals a year. Yes, that's right . . . see what a little plastic bag can do! A fellow Green Sister Beth Terry wrote a book – Plastic Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too. In it Beth talks about how so many animals have been and continue to be affected by plastic and how many states and nations are banning plastic bags because of those animals dying.
In order to help spread the word and educate consumers and businesses on the plastic bag problem and solutions, Factory Direct Promos has unveiled an interactive plastic bag ban map that tracks how locations all over the world are addressing the plastic bag problem. From areas that have banned single-use plastic bags to those that have tried and failed, the stories of their struggles are laid out for consumers, businesses and educators to track and share.
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to the plastic bag problem, and this interactive map showcases the stories behind the laws, bans and taxes imposed in locations all over the world. The color-coded map can easily be shared on blogs and websites. It aims to explain the evolution of bag bans and highlights effective solutions to this global plastic bag epidemic, while inspiring others to take a stand and join the movement. I urge you to share it with your community, friends and family so that we can work together to educate others on how plastic bags are affecting us – and, most of all, how they are going to affect our children's and grandchildren’s future!
Trina O'Boyle is a Drexel Hill, PA mom of two boys. This post is adapted from her blog, O'Boy Organic.
