Sunday, November 15

Post from the past: Music to my ears

Whenever I take something to someone’s house I always take it in a reusable bag and then I leave the bag there.

This is my sneaky way of getting others to use reusable bags.

I figure that if it is there they will use it and then they will discover how much easier and nicer reusable bags are to use than plastic bags and then they will be hooked.

I think my plan may have worked, at least with one of my friends. Here is the e-mail that I received from her shortly after I left her 2 bags,

"Hey, I used the grocery bags you left me. I love them. I’m addicted now."

It seems my plan is working….

Plastic Bag Top Facts - Consumption (according to reusablebags.com)
  • Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide. That comes out to over one million per minute. Billions end up as litter each year.
  • According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually. (Estimated cost to retailers is $4 billion)

Plastic Bag Top Facts - Environmental Impact (according to reusablebags.com)

  • Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, whales and other marine mammals die every year from eating discarded plastic bags mistaken for food.
  • Plastic bags don't biodegrade, they photodegrade - breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and entering the food web when animals accidentally ingest.
  • Plastic bags are among the 12 items of debris most often found in coastal cleanups, according to the nonprofit Center for Marine Conservation.

Go Green: Give a reusable bag to someone you know or even to someone you don’t know!

4 comments:

Nicole Feliciano said...

My girlfriends and I are bag swappers. When we have to return something to one another it is always in a reusable tote.

Over Coffee - the green edition said...

I love it Nicole! Bag swappers…what a great term to use. We could start a club ;-)

Daisy said...

Last year I gave reusable bags to everyone on my Christmas list. This year, it's dryer balls. They're a little more pricey, so it's just for the close family. I hope they get hooked on the convenience and the lack of chemicals.

Over Coffee - the green edition said...

What a great idea Daisy! I have no actually tried dryer balls but I hear great things about them. Most gifts i give are wrapped in beautiful bags! Hopefully we will start a wonderful trend ;-)