Plastic Bags vs.

Reusable Bags

Which one is more environmentally

friendly?

YOU

DECIDE

While Conducting a study at the local grocery store, it was discovered that…

For every $150 worth of food, about 27 plastic grocery bags were used (consider double bagging for heavy items).If one spends $150 on food each month, this calculates out to 324 grocery bags per year.That’s almost one plastic bag for each day of the year, if you start calculating people, this number becomes quite large.

data located on the web at:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pKq-OnL_8I9YHzBEQ4G0hLw

This number was compared to the maximum number of reusable bags required for $150 worth ofgroceries…

At most, a shopper may need to carry about 12 reusable bags with them to the grocery store.However, consider the lifetime of these bags.Most reusable bags are made out of durable materials.

She’s a Betty: Reusable Shopping Bag Guide (Left to Right: Cotton, recycled cement bag, reversible canvas/ recycled rice bag)

Consider… a “Town bans plastic bags 'forever‘”

A Devon townthat sparkedOff a nationalmovement toban plasticBags from itsShops ismaking theinitiative apermanent

one

BBC Newshttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/devon/7067104.stm

Shoppers are asked to buy 100% biodegradable alternatives made from corn starch, canvas, paper or cotton. The town also has "amnesty" points for people to recycle their old plastic bags.

Now consider the environmental impact of plastic bags…

• Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, whales, and other marine mammals die every year from eating discarded plastic bagsmistaken for food.•Plastic bags don’t biodegrade, they photo degrade- breaking down intosmaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and enteringwhen animals accidentally ingest.•Windblown plastic bags are so prevalent in Africa that a cottage industry has sprung up harvesting bags and using them to weave hats, and even bags. According to the BBC , one group harvests 30,000 per month.•Plastic bags are among the 12 items most often found incoastal cleanups, according to the nonprofit Center for Marine Conservation.

Information from reusablebags.com Image found on www.theage.com.au

Did you know?• Reusing a bag meant for just one use has a big impact. A sturdy, reusable bag needs only to be used 11 times to have a lower environmental impact than using 11 disposable plastic bags.•In New York City alone, one less grocery bag per person per year would reduce waste by 109 tons and save $11,000 in disposal costs.•Plastic bags carry 80% of the nation’s groceries, up from 5% in 1982.•When 1 ton of plastic bags is reused or recycled, the energy equivalent of 11 barrels of oil are saved. Information found at sierraclub.org/bags/ Image found at www.imulus.net

The environmental impact of reusing your plastic bags or using reusable bags is far less than simply throwing away your plastic bags.

Next time you plan a trip to the store, consider a more environmentally friendly option.

She’s a Betty: Reusable shopping bag guide

Left to Right/Top then bottom:• Floral Nylon bag (Container Store)• ACME workhorse bag(very durable)• Green Grocers Foldable • Graphic Series Pouch• Envirosax

REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE

Photos from The New York Times

Reusable bags are environmentally friendly and fashionable!