Plastic Bags: The Scourge of Africa (and a little closer to home, too)
Taking cues from several African countries, the City of Los Angeles passed a law on July 23, 2008 banning all plastic grocery and take out bags as of 2010. Rwanda, Uganda, and Tanzania have also passed laws banning or restricting the use of plastic bags. In Kenya, where only about 10% of waste makes it to garbage dumps, plastic bags spread disease by clogging sewers and providing breeding pools for malaria-infected mosquitoes.
Hopefully, this will provide a trend in legislation in cities across the country. Since “going green” became hip, I’ve seen a lot more people using reusable bags at the grocery store. And, it’s a nice little cheap and easy way for us all to make a difference for our environment.
These days, there’s a lot of great choices when it comes to reusable shopping bags. Envirosax makes a line of super-cute grocery shoppers in retro and modern patterns. And, you don’t have to break the bank, either. The Flora Bag below goes for just $8.50.
If you’re looking for something a little cheaper, Target has great foldable shoppers for only $.99! I keep them in my purse so I never have to get a plastic bag.
Leisa Pichard said:
For Earth Day this year I made a pledge to quit using plastic bags. I have to say the biggest challenge is remembering to take the cloth bags to the store with me. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten to check-out and realized I have no bags. So now, I too have a zipped Target bag in my purse. But I find that many times, I don’t need a bag at all. The clerks put even the smallest things in a bag. A pack of gum, for instance, gets bagged. A greeting card. Seriously, why do you need a bag for something you can carry in your hand? But I think the clerks, and most customers, don’t even think about it.
Frankly, in addition to the benefits to the earth, cloth bags don’t pile up at my house like the plastic. (I think the plastic bags breed!). And I don’t have to find a place to store them like I do the plastic. AND you can get more in the cloth bags–especially those awesome green Publix bags which I use for everything. So fewer trips to unload the groceries. I seriously love them. And remember, the grocery store is not the only place to think about your bagging choices.
Julanne Rutten said:
I have four cloths bags and a wine caddy and have found that I can get most everything in them. Before then, it took only a few trips to the store to gather an unmanageable amount of plastic bags. There is one exception, I like my seafood or poultry in a plastic bag before it’s placed in the cloth one. The only drawback to cloth is that many baggers haven’t exactly perfected the art of packing them well.
Leisa, I like your idea of making a pledge on Earth Day. Next year, why don’t you issue a challenge to your friends and family? I will certainly participate!