Have you ever been perplexed when asked the question, "Paper or Plastic?” at the grocery store? If it seems to you that neither one is a good choice, you’d be right. It takes 4 times the energy to produce a paper bag as a plastic one. Paper bags production generates 70% more air and 50 times more water pollutants than plastic bags. And while paper bags are recyclable, the ones that end up in the landfill don’t break down any faster than plastic bags.
Plastic bags, because of their low production cost, have proliferated to the point that we are consuming 500 billion of them per year world wide; that’s one million bags per minute! In the landfill, theses plastic bags will take from 500–1000 years to biodegrade, in the meantime releasing their petroleum-based toxins into the soil.
Lightweight plastic bags are easily carried away; blown into trees, sewer systems, spilling into waterways and oceans. In 2002, Bangladesh put an outright ban on plastic bags after it was discovered that the catastrophic flooding of 1998 was primarily due to the obstruction of the country’s drainage system by plastic bags.
When the bags reach the ocean, they cause the death an estimated 100,000 marine animals including sea turtles, whales, dolphins, seals and puffins. The floating plastic bags are indistinguishable from a main food source, jellyfish.
People the world over are realizing that the only answer to this scourge is to embrace reusable bags. Some countries, like Bangladesh, Taiwan, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya have banned plastic bags. Others including Denmark and Ireland, have put a tax (so-called “plas tax”) on the bags. This has been effective in drastically lowering plastic bag use, and at the same time raising funds for environmental projects.
While on assignment in Hawaii, filmmaker Rebecca Hoskins witnessed the death of a sea turtle by plastic bag. When she returned home to England, she saw with new eyes the impact of all the plastic bags used in her own small town. She decided to share her film footage with the local butcher, who in turn said that he no longer wanted to distribute plastic bags. After holding a meeting with all 43 shop keepers in her small town of Modbury (pop 1,553), the town agreed to go "plastic bags free" as of May 1, 2007. Modbury hopes to serve as a blueprint for other towns and cities that want to follow suit. Both San Francisco and Annapolis are considering such bans.
At Harvest Market we are providing our own initiative to encourage customers to join the reusable bag campaign. We are offering a 5¢ credit for every bag that you re-use when buying groceries. You can bring your own, or you may purchase one of our reusable bags. We are currently selling sturdy upright reusable bags for just $1.00. We know you will be pleased with their durability and function, and they will pay for themselves with just 20 uses! To get you started, “1 Bag at a Time” reusable bag bags are made from 100% polypropylene (also known as #5 plastic), which unlike other plastic bags is non-toxic and completely recyclable.
We also sell very strong hemp shopping bags in support of Roots & Shoots, a global environmental and humanitarian education program for youth. Hemp is superior to cotton in its durability, strength, and its environmental impact. Conventionally grown cotton uses more pesticides than any other U.S. crop. Hemp, on the other hand, requires little to no pesticides, because of its natural resistance. When you buy a Roots & Shoots hemp shopping bag, you’ll feel good knowing that you are supporting the earth, and helping the environment.
