Why Plastic Grocery Bags Should Be Replaced by Reusable Bags

June 17, 2016

At long last, supermarkets and other retail stores are reducing or eliminating plastic bags. Many of these stores have in fact replaced plastic bags with reusable bags, paper bags or recyclable bags with their own business logo printed on front. As well, there are supermarkets that give a small discount for customers who bring their own bag.

In truth, there is a lot of hype for both consumers and businesses to eliminate plastic entirely. And all this hype to replace plastic bags with a reusable bag is for good reason. Since the discovery that plastic rarely is recyclable, people have been uniting to help come up with alternatives that are much better for the environment. And the reason that plastic does not recycle well is because it is made from petroleum oil. In addition, plastic play great havoc on our Eco system.

Top Reasons to Switch from Plastic Bags to Reusable Bags

Hats off to all people who have switched from plastic bags to reusable grocery bags. But if you are still using plastic bags, here are a few facts that might give you incentive to make the switch.

• Plastic bags take from 15 to 1000 years to decompose.
• It takes 12 million barrels of oil to produce about 100 billion plastic bags.
• The petroleum used to make 14 plastic bags is enough to drive a car one mile.

What is more, approximately one thousand turtles, 1 million birds and other sea creatures die after ingesting a plastic bag. The sea creatures consume the plastic bags because they think it is an edible material such as plankton or a jellyfish. Once the plastic bag is consumed, it quickly blocks the digestive track and the creature starves to death. As well, many creatures drown because they get entangled in the plastic bag or waste and cannot escape.

The Accumulation of Plastic Bags

It is devastating to think about the amount of plastic that is thrown into our environment. In Australia alone, people use about 3.92 billion plastic bags a year that is over 10 million new bags being used daily. In addition, approximately 20,700 tonnes or 3.76 billion bags are thrown into landfills each year. Quite frankly, that is 7,150 recyclable plastic bags every minute or 429,000 bags every hour that is deposited into Australian landfills.

• They save trees.
• They save water.
• They help our families.
• The reduce air pollution.
• They help save our planet.
• They reduce oil and gas usage.
• They help preserve our ocean.
• They help save our sea and land creatures.
• They save more than 700 bags over the span of their lifetime.

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