We made our first trip to the grocery store this week using our reusable shopping bags!  It was actually kind of cool to use the bags instead of plastic.  It was easier than I thought it would be and we got everything into 6 bags versus our normal 12 - 15 plastic bags.  It made me think, “Why haven’t we done this sooner?”   

We all know the reasons why we should, there are statistics and data on everything from the cost to produce to the effects on the environment and wildlife.  I know because I did a lot of googling in the last few weeks and was shocked by some of the information:

1.  Almost 1 trillion plastic bags are used every year worldwide!

2.  That’s over 1 billion per day and it takes up to 1000 years for a plastic bag to fully degrade.

3.  Over 8 billion pounds of bags, wraps and sacks end up in US landfills each year.

4.  Over 100,000 marine animals, whales, seals and turtles, die each year from ingesting plastic bags.

Amazing numbers and scary as well.  So why don’t we all make the switch?   I believe there are two main reasons:  The cost and it’s not a habit. 

You can spend as little as $1.00 for a bag or up to $15-$20, depending on what you are looking for.  My suggestion, do it little by little.  We picked up 2 bags from Sprouts, 1 from Home Depot, an EcoBag, 4 of our own organic cotton bags and a few more here and there.  Over the course of about 6 weeks we spent about $35.00 for our bags so the cost was spread out over time. 

It doesn’t do any good to have the bags if you don’t use them so we put them by the door to our garage as a reminder, “Don’t forget me!”  It does take a conscious effort, in the beginning, to use the bags on a regular basis but it is worth both your time and the $$ you spend.

Don’t wait any longer, start today and you’ll be able to answer “Neither, I have my own” to the questions:  “Paper or plastic”