Plastic bags and the Holiday's, a no, no for the Eco system.

by Uwe Paschen | November 29, 2008 at 11:45 pm

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By, Uwe Paschen.

It is that time of the Year once again, where many of us go shopping for the Holiday’s festivities, may we be Christian, Jewish, Atheist, Hindu or even Muslim, we all have great celebrations coming up in the next four to twelve weeks.

From Hanukkah to the Chinese New Year it is the season of great celebrations for all around the Globe. Parties are being held, as well as family gatherings and community events.

Now, one thing all this has in common is the shopping in supermarkets, Farmer Markets and stores to buy the Gifts, the food and the decorations for the festivities to come.

This of course does require packaging, and transportation as well as means to get it all from the Stores back home and there comes in a handy little idem called the chopping Bag.

Now, until 1957, we used to go shopping with our baskets and cloth bags or even little carts we dragged behind us. However, since 1957 we have discovered the plastic bag that made its début in the US and by 1960 had spread around the Globe like a wild bush fire. To the point that by the 1970th it could be fund almost any where on this planet and has been causing major problem ever since.

Since we discard those trow away bags so easily, they can be fund not only on land fields but also along roads, in Rivers, in the Forest and even on mountain pics and in the Ocean. There thy cause great harm and kill million of birds, animals and fish that are trapped in them and most of them suffocate. This is no easy way to die or be killed what so ever.

We discard about 1.5 Million Tons of Plastic bags each Year and most of this around the Holidays shopping time. Keep in mind that it takes 220 Million litres of Oil to produce those bags and not counting the additional energy cost for transportation and recycling or land fields. There are 4 to 5 Trillion Plastic bags used every Year, enough to engulf the entire City of New York so you would not even be able to see the tallest buildings any longer. And this with just one Years plastic bags waste.

North America accounts for 60% of all this plastic bags waste and Europe for 20% the rest is more or less divided around the World evenly with Africa having the lowest share of plastic bags being used of all continents.

Now even though we have recycling facilities and program in some Nations, Fact is unfortunately that only 0.6% is being recycle, the remaining 99.4% end up in lad fields as well as in the Oceans ad Nature at large.

We could do with out and go back to Shopping baskets, Cloth bags and little carts we can easily pull and taken just about any where, some of those are so compact and easy to fold that they fit in a bag. It may be time to Refuse plastic bags given out to us and to ask to use our own cloth bag in stead. Leading by example for a better future for all living creatures on Earth.

These Holidays do think twice about using a plastic bag and with the New Year around the corner, it may be a great time for an Eco resolution, not to ever use plastic bags again. There are some great cloth bags and carts, that even look sharp and would get you some positive attention as well.

Happy Eco Friendly Holliday’s.

See Sources below.

Food and Water Watch,

garbage for food.

National Tap Water Database.

fact sheet on bottled water.

http://www.worldwatch.org/node/1499

Think twice about taking a plastic bag if your purchase is small and easy to carry.

Keep canvas bags in your home, office, and car so you always have them available when you go to the supermarket or other stores.

Ask your favorite stores to stop providing bags for free, or to offer a discount for not using the bags.

Encourage your local politicians to introduce legislation taxing or banning plastic bags.

Try to go at least one week without accumulating any new plastic bags. If every shopper took just one less bag each month, this could eliminate the waste of hundreds of millions of bags each year.

http://www.bpiworld.org/

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rumana husain

at 06:14 on November 30th, 2008

thanks paschen for this post. an appropriate reminder. several years ago, i started a campaign against plastic bags in schools here, and in particular against the more carsenogenic black ones that were used in abundance, by writing a children's story book about a black plastic bag. the book was accompanied by a teacher's manual.over the years, it has become a part of many schools curricula. the black ones are now banned in pakistan (i certianly dont take credit for it, but it was encouraging) but unfortunately the plastic bag menace has otherwise not stopped. my book was also taken up by some environmentalists in india in the dehra dhun region after it was translated in hindi by them (the original story is in urdu). in china i have noticed that they have now started to charge for the plastic bags so people remember to bring their own cloth bags for purchases. certainly a big change from last year. perhaps other countries should do the same.

SOLARLIFE

at 13:44 on November 30th, 2008

Plastic bags are banned from Super markets in France. However for 5 cents you can buy a reusable one, what most people do. Why the reusable one should be better still made out of petrol and not bioplastic, I doubt. We are lazy guys never having enough shopping bags with us when we buy.

altrugon

at 12:44 on December 1st, 2008

The best law for me up to now has been my wife.

She really get mad every time she see me using a plastic bag.

I save the planet, I save my life.

Jordan Yerman

at 06:38 on November 30th, 2008

Thanks for the story, and for the relevant links.

Alida Antonia Cornelius

at 06:41 on November 30th, 2008

Every time I volunteer for my watershed, it makes me so sad to see all the plastic bags on the ground, even far in rural areas. Free plastic bags should be banned. On the sign I designed for the watershed, I included the words, "Fines for Littering and Dumping" to try to get the message across.

Sometimes reminders do help.

Milieunet

at 06:42 on November 30th, 2008

Hello Christina,

It is easy to change. Just buy two or three sustainable bags and you never need plastic bags anymore.

Milieunet

at 06:46 on November 30th, 2008

See also: http://www.stichtingmilieunet.nl/andersbekekenblog/?p=5572 and for Israel:

http://www.stichtingmilieunet.nl/andersbekekenblog/?p=1730 and for Australia:

http://www.stichtingmilieunet.nl/andersbekekenblog/?p=1570 and for San Francisco http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/03/28/MNGDROT5QN1.DTL and this action of Whole Foods: http://www.stichtingmilieunet.nl/andersbekekenblog/?p=1820 and here you can find some nice action in the UK:

http://www.stichtingmilieunet.nl/andersbekekenblog/?p=2727

Christina 123

at 06:50 on November 30th, 2008

I have millions of recyclable bags!

(Don't worry: as long as they are in my cupboard they are not harming the environment!)

danesller0127

at 13:27 on November 30th, 2008

Here in Saudi Arabia, or even in my country, the Philippines, you can see, plastic everywhere, in malls, supermarket, bazzar, or in public market, etc. they are using plastic bags....they replaced the traditional 'paper bags' or carry bags...plastic are hazardous to environment, the land and rivers or oceans, gets lettered by plastic bags garbage. I'm hoping that in the future, we completely banning this hazardous substances. Thank you very much Pachen' for posting it... :)
danesller

Barbara McPherson

at 09:29 on December 2nd, 2008

There is a campaign in British Columbia, Canada to eliminate plastic bags. Many of the retail outlets are offering at cost sturdy shopping bags. The trick is to get into the habit of taking them with you shopping. The good news is more people are buying into it.

azzayindia

at 00:16 on November 30th, 2008

nice post

dear friends send all the plastic bags to this lady

http://my.nowpublic.com/environment/narayani-devi-85-year-s-old-active-environmentalist-uttarakhand

PROFARMS

at 01:16 on November 30th, 2008

Thanks for this post and happy ECO HOLIDAY!

Milieunet

at 04:43 on November 30th, 2008

STOP plastic bags, stop waste

http://www.stichtingmilieunet.nl/andersbekekenblog/?p=2702

Christina 123

at 05:10 on November 30th, 2008

I put my hand up; guilty as charged, m'Lud! I have dozens of plastic bags stacked up in the kitchen as I keep forgetting to take one with me when I go to the shops! Please be lenient on me...

Milieunet

at 06:41 on November 30th, 2008

Uwe, thanks too for your comment on my blog. I have a lot of material there.

See this article about energysaving in Japan:

http://www.stichtingmilieunet.nl/andersbekekenblog/?p=5785

Milieunet

at 06:54 on November 30th, 2008

Don't forget the floating waste belts in our oceans:

http://www.stichtingmilieunet.nl/andersbekekenblog/?p=2160

Milieunet

at 07:03 on November 30th, 2008

And her is some plastic ban in Los Angeles: http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/07/28/los-angeles-bans-plastic-bags/

Uwe Paschen

at 08:52 on November 30th, 2008

Thanks to all and every one for reading this Post, Commenting on it and Recommending it, I do appreciate it.

Many thanks to Milieunet for all the additional links and Pictures here, much appreciated.

It is an important issue that needs attention and hopefully may help or contribute to free our Planet from all the plastic bags, bottles and other packaging that is literally suffocating us.

jessica.lam

at 11:39 on November 30th, 2008

Good reminder!

Amy Judd

at 12:14 on November 30th, 2008

I never use plastic bags anymore. They're terrible for the environment and especially around the holidays, it seems they are used more!

lefty_liberated

at 11:54 on December 2nd, 2008

British Columbia has the added motivation that its landscape is often absolutely pristine. Other than being freaking awesome people.

lefty_liberated

at 11:59 on December 2nd, 2008

It's mandatory in NYC, too. We have sanitation police. They're also putting recycling bins in the parks and they sort and recycle trash from the city subway system and require businesses to comply as well, though it is apparently difficult to enforce because of how large the city is.

More power to you!

lefty_liberated

at 12:00 on December 2nd, 2008

God J'taime the french, man.

panzerlawyer

at 21:40 on December 2nd, 2008

Yeah I hate it when they ask at supermarket, "paper or plastic"? Just stop offering plastic for crying out loud.

Miriam Mannak

at 00:22 on December 6th, 2008

I think that shops and especially supermarkets should stop handing out plastic bags. Yes, it will be inconvenient at first but aft5er a week or two everyone will know that they should bring their own shopping bag. I can't really see the problem of doing this ... If I would be a manager of a supermarket, I would scrap plastics bags all together and give my customers - after launching the idea - a free linnen shopping bag.

Miriam Mannak

at 00:26 on December 6th, 2008

Another ttthing - when I was in Lubumbashi (DRC) earlier this year, I spoke to people about the fact that ground water levels are dropping with 20 cm each year. We were walking through what they call a 'cité' - one of the neighbourshoods at the outskirts of the city. The roads, which were not paved, where covered in plastic.

According to my friends, all these plastic bags are one of the culprits. "When it rains, the water doesn't get into the ground but remains on top of those plastic bags and evaporate before reaching the ground."

Miriam Mannak

at 08:36 on December 14th, 2008

No - I do not have pictures but will take some when I am there next week (will be there 'til January 5)

azzayindia

at 09:31 on December 14th, 2008

it is indeed great to know that your book has been translated in hindi and used at dehradun would like to get hold of a copy of that

gerrypopplestone

at 20:17 on March 9th, 2009

I saw a picture recently of an elephant that had died after having eaten plastic bags: the plastic did terrible things to its stomach (the keeper di an autopsy on the elephant). And, off the west coast of the US, there is an area where the sea is calm that collects just tons and tons of the stuff from all over the Pacific Ocean! What are we doing to the world?