09 Apr Just How Bad Are Plastic Grocery Bags?

Plastic grocery bags have become mainstays in our society because they are easy and cheap to produce.  The estimated consumption rate of these plastic bags is about 500 billion per year, which equates to around 1 million bags per minute.   What is so bad is that these bags hang around for up to 1000 years and they cause many marine animal deaths each year when the animals mistake the bags for food.  While you may not care about the sea turtles or other marine life, you must understand than any disruption in nature’s food chain will eventually reach us in some negative way.  I believe the bags should be banned because of the devastating results they contribute to our Earth.  Many other countries have already banned the use of these bags that are made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) because of the negative and long-lasting effects on the environment.  Reusable bags should be used whenever possible.  These non-woven polypropylene bags are becoming more popular with grocery stores and even other retail stores.  When buying these in bulk, retailers can actually sell these bags for around $1 and still make a profit.  This is a small price to pay for something that can really help our environment.  I believe even small retail shops should jump on board and get reusable shopping bags printed with their business name and logo on them.  These bags will save your business hundreds or thousands of dollars a year because you will be able to drastically cut back on purchases of plastic shopping bags.  Anytime you can save a buck, you should jump on it.