Plastic bags are the devil

An estimated one percent of thrown-away plastic bags never make it to the landfill. Instead, in New York City, too many of them become street litter which first gets washed into the City’s storm drains and then, when a heavy rain comes and the system overflows, gets dumped through one of the 450 “outfalls” into the New York harbor estuary. From there, it washes into that part of the Atlantic Ocean known as the New York Bight where it becomes accidental food for the 7 species of sea turtle, 300 species of fish, 350 species of bird, 10 species of whales and several species of seals and porpoises who live there (case in point in the picture on the right).

For leatherback turtles, it turns out, New York’s “urban tumbleweed”—the 30 to 90 million estimated plastic bags that end up littering the streets each year—is a particular hazard. In 1988, alarmed marine biologists, trying to figure out why 15 dead leatherback turtles had washed up on the beaches of Long Island in only two weeks, found that the stomach openings of 11 of the turtles had been blocked by ingested plastic bags. Leatherbacks have the unfortunate combination of loving to eat jellyfish and bad eyesight. To a nearly blind jellyfish lover, it seems, a submerged plastic bag looks pretty yummy (if your eyesight wasn't too good, that bag on the left would look like a jelly fish, right?).

According to a report by the National Academy of Sciences, between one third and one half of sea turtles swimming in American waters already has at least some kind of plastic impacted in their stomachs. A recent study on Sand Island in the northwestern Hawaiian chain showed that 97 percent of Laysan Albatross chicks had ingested plastic, picked up by their parents from the ocean surface and regurgitated as though it was food. An estimated one million seabirds and 100,000 sea mammals and turtles starve to death each year after plastic blocks their digestive tracks. A number of countries, including Ireland, have actually taxed plastic bags out of popular use.

And here’s what we did. We began bringing our own bags to the farmers’ market (pretty much the only shopping we do on this project). We saved all the various shopping bags—like the great ones from the clothing store Scoop—that had come our way and bought some large organic cotton net bags like the French use. We also got some light, organic cotton cloth bags for use when buying produce, instead of the plastic bags you find at the grocery store.

Want to get some yourself? You can find them at Reusable Bags or Ecobags (anyone have other suggestions?). For the many other reasons plastic bags are the devil, read what the Worldwatch Institute has to say here and some fast facts from Reusable Bags here.

Comments

[Carolyn in Colorado]

Heck yeah, I'll join you! I'd be absolutely delighted to wipe plastic bags off the face of the Earth!

Want to join me? Visit my pledge at
www.pledgebank.com/Give-a-Bag
I've already reached my official goal, but I think it is important to let others know that we're not alone in trying to clean up the plastics. I'm still giving away grocery bags...one for every 10 people who will take the pledge. Thanks for all you do!

[holly]

I, too, stopped getting plastic bags from the grocery store. However, when I buy in bulk from "The bulk barn" (a store in Ontario Canada that sells bulk foods) they no longer allow you to bring your own containers in. I do not buy a lot from them, and I always reuse the baggies they provide. I have 2 dogs I walk every day, the odd time our older dog will make a "deposit" and I use those bags to pick up his "stuff." Thanks for the great information. I will now try and strive to eliminate as many bags as possible from entering our home. My son and I also pick up any and all plastic bags we see flying or lying around.

[rachel]

I was at SCRAP in SF today and there were great shopping bags to purchase (used or new but headed for a dumpster anyway). So you might check your used art supply shop.

As a dog walker who won't buy bags to pick up poop, I'm a big fan of taking bags out of the recycling kiosks in front of chain grocery stores. I became an even bigger fan of this method when a grocery store clerk told me that they don't get recycled but are currently just being stored (wtf?). This will be an even greater option in SF soon as we're forcing grocery stores to transition to biodegradeable bags.
This is also helpful if you make a spontaneous trip to the grocery store and don't have your trusty canvas bag.

Colin, regarding the toilet paper issue, search the Compact Yahoo Group for "poocible papers". There's way more info on the subject of wiping your butt w/o paper than you ever wanted to know.
peace,
rachel

[Alexandra]

Hello,

It's great to see that more and more people are deciding that enough is enough (plastic bags that is). I am originally from Germany, where years ago, the anti-plastic bag movement has started, and now every grandma is bringing her cloth bags to the store, and if it is because she now has to pay for the plastic bags.
So when I moved to San Francisco, I really tried to make an effort to use cloth bags and a wonderful big shopping basket, which is even aesthetically pleasing when you have all your fresh fruits and veggies in it. It is still an uphill battle. The few times I do visit Safeway or another "mainstream" grocery store, I still almost have to beat the bagger to putting the stuff in the cloth bags. And always questions: do you want the milk in there, too? (Yes, the bags are washable); are you sure that fits in there? (yes, just pile it up). I do love our Rainbow Grocery in SF where you can bring your own containers for bulk foods. This way one can eliminate quite a bit.

And it does not necessarily have to be "ugly" to use cloth bags: reusablebags.com has a great selection of fun bags in all sizes.

I will keep trying. Keep up the good work!

Alexandra

[Peter Pavia]

My wife is starting to bust my balls over throwing everything into the one hole, i.e. the garbage bag (a petroleum based derivative commonly known as plastic) but I can tell you, as a natural contrarian, it's going to require a superhuman effort for me to get on board with you green weenies. Should I set myself up as the site's philistine? I could give the earnest folks somebody to knock down. On the other hand, I admire true belief in most of its forms, and the Franciscan in me abhors mistreatment of animals. I have had the same metro card for almost a year. It's set to expire. Does this count? Oh, the horns of dilemma...

[Maureen O'Connor]

Don't get me started on the plastic bag issue.

http://www.alternativeconsumer.com/2007/02/13/plastic-bags-tree-trash/

It's been bothering me for years and glad to see that I'm not alone.

/m

[kristina]

add me to the list of people who treat overuse and waste of plastic bags as fingernails on a chalkboard. it's by far my largest pet peeve and has elicited a domestic quarrel or two on trips from the grocery store (we walk home less than 10 minutes and there is great fear that the 3 bags I am reusing are going to tear, spilling the eggs, milk and cans of chicken broth all over the sidewalk) Many of my friends can't understand what is self-admittedly an obsession, but I refuse to use new bags from a store - any store. Grocery market, clothing boutique or large department store, liquor bodegas - you name it. I come in with my bags and insist I use what I've brought instead of theirs - and many times, the grocery clerks are satisfied putting merely 3 items in a double bagged sack. UGH!
Does anyone else have the program at Trader Joe's where they sign you up for a raffle if you bring in your own bags? I don't reuse their handy paper double sacks with handles on the outside chance I will get a free bag of groceries one month (2 years and counting and I still know no one who has won) The guy at the local Trader Joe's the other day had the gall to assume that I wasn't banking enough on just "doing the right thing" and accused me of not trusting karma when they handed me the raffle ticket to fill out for my contact info.
Anyhow, I personally think buying another item, contributing to an already overflowing market of consumerism that sells the lifestyle of appearing "Green," is pointless when plastic and paper bags accumulate without any effort. My boyfriend and roommates try to reuse if they think about it, but I know that for every new bag they bring to the house, it will be re-used at least 3 more times. If every household kept a stash of bags in their cars, backpacks, bike bags or at the office, I am sure we'd see a diminishing supply of the plastic floating in the breeze along the sidewalks and city streets. Despite the attempt of American Beauty, that "Best Picture" film in 1999, to reclassify these plastic cluttering nuisances as "beautiful" images "dancing" in the wind, I think our cities and grocery stores at the very least could make a great impact on the cleanup.

[katherine]

Alexandra, I live in Germany now, and it was a shock on my first trip to the store. But I love that all the major shops charge €0.15 for a bag, because you so rarely see people buying them, and those that do get that uniquely German look of reproval from the women at the Kasse. I keep a (yes, plastic) bag tied on my bike seat at all times - it keeps my bum dry through the ever-variable Rheinisch weather, and is quite handy for impulsive purchases at the mid-day markets.

Did you know the island of Mauritius (south-east of Africa, hiding behind Madagascar on a map; former home of the dodo bird, the original symbol of ecological disaster) has completely banned plastic bags? They only allow oxo-biodegradable bags for use.

Europe, as usual, is charging even further ahead; French legislators recently introduced a bill that would ban the use of all non-biodegradable plastics for packaging, not just bags, as early as 2010.

[Christa]

I agree with Kristina--the most important tip to help you actually follow this rule when you're a busy person is to keep those bags in your car, bike, etc. for all the unplanned trips. And most of mine are unplanned.

[Emily]

I live in New York City in an apartment building which has a very small garbage chute, meaning that I don't buy large trash bags because they don't fit. Instead, I use the plastic bags from my grocery shopping. If I switch to using canvas bags to carry my grocery home, won't I therefore have to buy plastic trash bags? Isn't that just as bad? Thoughts? Or am I just being crazy?

[Dan]

You could do like I do: mix the two behaviors. Use fabric bags whenever you can (or when you remember to bring them :P ), when you forget or need some trash bags, take the plastic ones shopkeepers give you. And if you take them, reuse them as much as you can. ;)

[dawn]

i hate those plastic bags. What a scorge.

I'be been bringing my own canvas bags for years, but in all this time have only seen one other shopper do the same. It's a mystery why others don't bother; even if you're not an environmentalist, they're much more sturdy.

[J. María]

I, too, hate those plastic grocery bags, and haven't used them for some time now. I decided to convert my relatives and friends--or at least give them the opportunity -- so this past Christmas everyone on my list got a set of the sturdy reusable cloth grocery bags that I use, the kind that actually stand up squarely for filling and are totally strong!

[Nora]

To Emily:
I've been bringing my own bags for years, and on the occasions that I've needed plastic bags, like for lining the trash, I just get a stash from someone else. Most people have way more than they know what to do with.

[pmok]

I am thrilled to find so many people on the same page with me on plastic bags, I absolutely hate them. Besides bringing my own bag to the grocery store, and reusing them over and over again, I've also encouraged my friends and roommates to do the same, although the results are mixed (really, how hard is it to bring a bag into the store, or if you're buying just one small thing, who needs a bag at all!) I LOVE the idea of giving cloth grocery bags as Christmas present, what a great idea! It'll definitely be on my list this year. Thanks for the idea, J Maria!

Colin, I admire you deeply, and make me realize I should do a lot more, thanks for the push!

[rachel]

You've inspired me. I'm going to dig up all my Trader Joe's bags that are always filled with other things and dedicate them to groceries. We do a pretty good job of re-using plastic bags at least once, but they do inevitably end up in the trash eventually. I found a cool crochet pattern where you use those plastic bags to crochet a sturdy grocery tote, so that's my next project.

[Lindsey]

If you have a ridiculous cache of plastic bags in your house but don't want to throw them away, I suggest knitting a tote bag out of them! Even though I haven't finished mine yet, it seems to be very strong. It takes A LOT of bags and even though I used every single one I had, I didn't get very far on my tote. I've been meaning to go to the grocery store and take a bunch out of those bins they often have outside for people to dump their plastic bags. I think the store claims to "recycle" them, but I figure if I can reuse them with my tote that is much more of a conservation. And, I kind of want to knit Walmart bags into my tote because they're blue, but since I don't shop at Walmart, maybe I can pillage them out of the grocery store's bin! There's some kind of hilarious irony in A) turning one of the worst items of trash into something everlasting, and B) turning one of the worst store's plastic bags into something that I will only use to carry my vegetables home from my local grocery co-op and farmer's market! Yes!

Just google "knitting plastic bags" and there are loads of how-tos. Enjoy!

[Angela]

I use one of these big African baskets to shop with. It's the greatest thing I've found and all my girlfriends have them too. As you shop, you just drop your items in. Empty onto the belt at checkout and fill it back up on the other end. They hold a LOT!! Much more than one paper grocery bag. Also handy in the garden if you grow veggies. People are always commenting on how beautiful it is too.
http://www.gaiam.com/retail/product/06-0549

[Enthusia]

have you read about the plastic bag vortex? there's a fantastic artist (gooseflesh) who inverts this plastic damage and crochets different colored plastics from bags into sea creatures

[David]

The biggest change that can (and should) be made for people outside the environmentally conscious is a mental shift away from the rote reaction of a store clerk or attendant to bag your small carton of milk or soda, even if you don't ask for it. More people need to get accustomed to not carrying everything in a bag, and be more quick to wave an offered bag away. I've definitely make more of an effort to do so without being a jerk or come off as stand-offish. But the spread through word-of-mouth is the way you will get that mentality change, and make it more than just preaching to the choir. Everybody just tell your friends and their mothers.

[vanessa]

We have started using cloth bags we bring from home to do our grocery shopping, but even so, we have a CLOSET full of plastic bags from the past or unavoidable oops-we-forgot-a-bag-from-home purchases.

What we do is use them for the trash. The really UNBELIEVABLE part to me about plastic bags is that people go to the store and buy BIGGER plastic bags into which they throw away all the smaller plastic bags they get every day. So when we DO get a plastic bag, we hang it on the doorknob in the kitchen or bathroom, and use that as our trash bag. At least that way we aren't doubling the problem.

When we started doing this, I also realised that I was making an effort to make less garbage, because using those little tiny bags, they needed to be taken out much more frequently, so it's actually had quite an impact.

[Autumn]

I got some nylon reusable bags for Christmas (I asked for them) and I'm so glad I have them. I use them at the grocery store, at Target, to carry things too and from work, etc. As for the few plastic bags I get I use them for the bathroom trash and as a trash bag for the car.

My brother and sister-in-law don't recycle anything, its horrible, and a really bad example for my nieces. Getting everyone reusable canvas bags would make good Christmas presents. I've been harping on my parents to make the switch.

[Gracie H.]

I found some nylon mesh bags at a big box home store and have been using them for quite a while. I had a hard time remembering to take them into the store at first but they're a habit now. I got my mom interested in reuseable shopping bags recently. She got a set of string bags from Reuseablebags.com and loves them! I really wish that the grocery stores would do something to support the use of reuseable bags. It would save them money, they could sell reuseable bags with their names on them, they could even offer a small "no bag" rebate like Whole Foods does to encourage people to stop using disposable bags.

[jane]

in my community, they recycle those annoying plastic bags if they #1-7. So we recycle them and when used as trash can liners, dump the trash out into the large garbage can and then reuse the bags several times before recycling them.

Glad to see others concerned about the plastic bag madness!

[Josh Mitoska]

I take all my plastics, cans, & Paper to the free recycling place down the street from me. But they don't have anywhere to put plastic bags? I stopped getting bags all together from the grocery store, but I had been saving all my bags for quite a while and I'm not sure what to do with them? I also try to not get a back anytime I go anywhere to eat (mostly subway) I just get my sandwich in the paper wrap and go. I wish I had some way to avoid all the excess packaging I get on things.