Jimmie Munoz
April 22, 2019
Whenever I can, I travel by bus. I think it gives me a good opportunity to catch up on some reading, catch up on some z’s, and to also look off into the distance to admire the natural beauty of the countryside. The countryside helps me think. It’s relaxing. It’s ever changing. It’s also a reminder that I am part of the natural world.
Once I going by bus through the Andes Mountains. Those were some very windy roads, and the bus hugging the mountainside as we banked from left to right through the lush green tropical mountaintops. But every now and again, I’d see something that didn’t belong. Once in a while a piece of a blown out tire, but most of the time it was plastic bags!
The Center for Biological Diversity reports that up to 1,500 plastic shopping bags are used per family, per year! Even if the number is half that, it’s still a lot of plastic bags. Plastic bags are definitely a big problem for the oceans, killing sea turtles and birds. But they’re also big problems for land animals and plants as well. Plastic bags are definitely the most common as they can easily take flight and end up anywhere in the world. We’ve all seen a plastic bag flying through the air (whether in person or by watching American Beauty).
Either we’re doing to do something about these plastic bags. Or we’re going to end with countrysides of plastic.
So here are 3 things can we do about plastic bags?
First, we can lesson the amount that we use. When we go out to buy groceries, remember to take a reusable bag with you. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Plastic bags aren’t fancy. A backpack works. I use my changing bag when I’m grabbing some veggies on the way home from the gym. Whatever it is, just use it and reuse it.
Second, recycle it. Yes I know, “you can’t put them in the curbside bins.” Yeah, but you CAN take them to drop off points that you’re going to anyway and have them recycled. The American Chemistry Council has a quick search for plastic bag recycling drop off locations around the USA. Hint: it’s probably the grocery store you’re going to anyway.
Finally, share the knowledge. If your clerk or bagger at the grocery store is automatically reaching for a plastic bag, share why you choose to minimize your plastic bag use. Sharing provides reinforcement for those who might be starting their plastic reduction journey, and it spreads the knowledge of this urgent topic by sharing and leading by example.
Reduce, Recycle, Reinforce. Those are three ways we can take conscious steps to addressing the overuse of plastic bags.
