Did you know that the world uses over 1 trillion plastic bags every year? The earth struggles to bear this burden. Each bag can take up to 1,000 years to degrade and leaches toxins into our soil. Each square mile of ocean has about 46,000 pieces of floating plastic, which is often mistaken for food by sea animals like turtles. It’s time to stop contributing to the plastic pandemic.
We all know the common phrase: “reduce, reuse, recycle”. But did you know that the order of these words is also important? Reduce comes first because it is the most important “R”. Never before has the planet seen the levels of consumption that our society exhibits. The less we buy, consume or use in the first place has the biggest impact on the planet. It means less resource demand, less fossil fuel used, less air pollution and less groundwater contamination.
Reuse is also much more important than recycling, because it also has a big impact on the environment. When we reuse, we also decrease consumption and demand for new products and plastics. Every time we go to the grocery store we use 3-10 plastic bags, which can add up to 520 bags per year! Vince’s just launched their line of reusable shopping bags. So stock up your car with cloth grocery bags, and keep one in your purse. Or do what I do, if you only have a few items, carry them! Did you know that when the grocery cart was first introduced into stores, people didn’t want to use them because they felt offended? They took it as an insult that they could not carry their own purchases! Wow, have things changed. Our great-grandparents would be incensed at our current sedentary and wasteful lifestyle.
Reusable Mugs and Bottles. Just by taking your coffee mug to the coffee shop each day, you could save 400-800 cups and lids from ending up in the landfill. If you think of each person going to the drive thru window twice a day that adds up to a mountain of beverage cups. In fact cups and takeout garbage is one of the largest (and fastest growing) portions of our landfill garbage. It takes a little extra effort to remember your mug (I struggle with this too!) But when you think of the real impact, it is worth the effort.
Other Ideas to Reduce and Reuse. You can reduce your plastic footprint with reusable bags, buying in bulk or larger sizes, using a travel mug, recycling children’s clothing and toys, not buying bottled water (buy a water filter instead). Try to become more aware of how much you consume and the frequency that you upgrade everything in your home. Also, become more aware about how goods are packaged and choose to support manufacturers that support sustainable practices. Talk with your children about environmental issues so they can be aware of how their choices impact their future. Remember, each action that we take to save the environment, does make a difference. Just one reusable bag or container can eliminate hundreds of plastic items from our soils and ocean.
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Do you use reusable bags when you do your shopping? We’d love your feedback. Here on this blog, you’ll get commentluv. This is a wonderful way to leave a link back to your own blog when you leave a comment.
Until next time,
Stephanie
