Yesterday I posted about bringing your own mug, but today I want to talk about another important thing you should bring of your own... a bag! How many times do you go shopping and fill up those pesky plastic bags? If you are anything like the way I was, you would get home, unpack all your bags, and then either toss them in the trash or start putting them away for "someday." It gets to the point where you are either throwing tons of plastic into the trash, or you just have a MILLION plastic bags building up in a cabinet or drawer.
Something you may not know, is that it takes 500 YEARS for most plastic bags to decompose... YES, 500!!! 5 CENTURIES!!! Sure, they can be recycled, but most people aren't willing to tote all their plastic bags to their local recycling centre to see to it that they are recycled. Even if you reuse the bags for trash, etc, you are still placing plastic into our already crammed landfills!!!
So what are some positive alternatives to plastic bags? I can think of two awesome ones!
First, buy bags that decompose! Several companies have started making bags out of corn (crazy!) and these bags decompose in 30-60 days! One example of such a company is BioBags that can be purchased in all different sizes from here:
http://www.biodegradablestore.com/index.html
Several companies, including Mountain Equipment Co-Op, have opted to not only donate 5 cents if you bring your own bag, but the bags they DO give are also decomposable!!! For more information on MEC's bag policies, check out their website at www.mec.ca
A Second option is just bringing your own bag! Then when they ask if you need a bag, you can say no! Or you can tell them right up front that you won't be needing a bag because you brought your own!
A vain benefit to bringing your own bag, is that you can buy some really gorgeous ones now! Here are a few companies I recommend... their bags are so beautiful you won't forget to stuff it in your pocket before you leave the house =)
http://www.bringyourownbag.ca
http://www.reusablebags.com/
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3 comments:
Hello! I love today's post especially. I too bring my own reusable bags when I shop, and two of the grocery stores at which I patronize are supportive enough to give bag-bringing customers a 5c-20c credit toward their total for each of their own bags they bring in.
I'm the secretary of my law school's enviro law society, and we are getting reusable bags made to sell to the at-large student body. Blogs like yours help make awareness of this issue spread.
My next task is to bring my own containers to restaurants when I go out to eat so I can avoid polystyrene/styrofoam.
Keep up the good work, I've been loving it so far.
- Alison (LJ user: bulldogmafia)
Important topic already
Important topic already
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