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Thursday, March 18, 2010

B.Y.O.B.

Bring Your Own Bags

Life is full of choices, followed usually by decisions.

On a regular basis we face what we think is an ordinary decision, “Paper or plastic?”.

Depending upon what we might need bags or sacks for at home we choose. Or maybe it doesn’t matter at the time or we don’t get asked.

Now GREEN has returned. Once the color theme of choice when Earth Day was born and it is back in fashion. Everyone is more aware, smarter, paying attention. Like it or not, most of us realize what we do has an impact on the environment. Trash is trash and each of us generates a lot of it.

Facts: Plastic bags take as long as 1000 years to break down. They choke marine mammals which mistake them as food. They litter landscapes. A bit over 5% are recycled. Considering how long plastic has been around we can conclude that every piece of plastic ever produced is still here, somewhere. Each person accounts for 1200 plastic bags annually. In addition there are bottles, wrappers, anti-theft devices. We could go on but why? You know what is plastic.

Do not take this as an endorsement for paper though.

If the bags are not made from recycled paper more trees are cut down and there’s an impact. It also takes a long, long time to breakdown if it is goes to a landfill. If bags go back into a recycling program there are processes to return it to pulp and they include chemicals.

It seems to be a dilemma.

If you choose one or the other then try to have other uses for the bags. There’s the dog walking chore of “picking up” for which plastic bags are good. At the same time, paper bags can end up as book covers or can be ripped up and thrown into the compost pile.

You can go with one or the other but you can also help by going green with reusable shopping bags or sacks. They are easy to come by. Stores, catalogs, and online retailers offer them. If you’re concerned about fuel then decide whether you should buy when you are out and about or buy online with other items that are in an order, delivered in one stop.
If you attend trade shows or donate to some causes you can often get canvas bags as thank you offerings. Gather enough of them and you are able to avoid both paper and plastic. Responsible companies welcome the opportunity to help the environment while getting all of us to promote their businesses; it's a green marketing approach.

Plus you will recycle a memory or two about where you were or how it is you came to own the variety of reusable bags you carry proudly into the stores you frequent. Just remember to take your bags with you when you go!
Our Earth looks good in green.

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