“Just one word… plastics”

In the 1967 movie The Graduate, the plastic industry was the future. Some say that this movie alone was responsible for the rapid growth of plastic in the last half century.

Today, however, the plastic industry may be the past.

Well, sort of. Plastic is used everywhere, and its use will continue to shape our lives. Getting rid of it entirely isn’t possible or necessary, but we can take small steps to get rid of one of the main (and unnecessary) contributors to plastic pollution.

Plastic bags.

Plastic bags are costly in four separate areas.

Note: All facts come from the World Watch Institute, the American Plastics Council, the American Chemistry Council, The Independent, and National Geographic.

1. Production

While plastic bags only cost about 1 cent to make (compared with 4 cents for paper bags), between 500 billion and 1 trillion new bags are made each year. Because bags are petroleum based, this increases our oil dependency.

American retailers spend roughly $4 billion dollars on bags. Even though they are “free,” these costs are still being passed on to the consumer.

2. Consumption

In the USA alone, an estimated 100 billion bags are used each year. Plastic bags make up about 80% of the market share for retail and grocery bags. For stores, they are cheaper to make and are more energy efficient than paper bags, which use 70% more energy and emit 50% more greenhouse during production.

The average grocery bag is only used for 12 minutes.

3. Disposal

Less than 1% of grocery bags are recycled each year. The rest end up in landfills, accounting for as much as 3% of ALL waste in landfills. There is additional waste based on the simple act of garbage collection (fuel, pollution, etc)

It is estimated that plastic bags can take anywhere from 100-1,000 years to decompose. Along the way, they collect AND give off toxins that leach into soil and water systems.

4. Litter

Plastic trash is everywhere. The scale of environmental damage caused by plastic bags is staggering. The Independent writes, “Plastic is believed to constitute 90% of all rubbish floating in oceans.”

I’m not exactly sure what rubbish is, but I bet it is something you can probably find on the tarmac in carparks. Err?

This same article discusses the Great Plastic Garbage Patch (pictured), a swirl of plastic pollution in the Pacific Ocean that is twice the length of the continental United States. Trash (or rubbish) collects here where the waters swirl in a constant vortex as the waters slowly circulate.

Additionally, plastic bags are on roadsides, in gutters, on the sidewalk, in rivers, and so on. Animals mistake it for food and can choke or be poisoned.

What can be done?

One step is for governments to tax or outright ban plastic bags. Ireland placed a 20-cent tax on plastic bags and saw a 95% reduction in use (not to mention pollution). Other countries such as South Africa, China (China!?!), Australia, and Bangladesh have taxed or banned plastic bags and reduced their environmental impact.

Locally, San Francisco has banned the bags, and other cities such as Boston, Seattle, and Portland are considering similar measures. Individual retailers such as Whole Foods have stopped offering them altogether, and even Wal-Mart is getting in on the act by offering insulated re-usables.

For municipalities that are wary of adding another tax to the populace, the use of re-usable bags can remain voluntary while awareness is raised. Recycling can be put in highly visible areas, baggers can be taught to more effectively pack plastic bags, and rebates can be given for using old bags or reusables. Several national chains already do this.

Remember, even recycling uses massive amounts of energy, and so do paper bags. Reusable bags are the best option. They are cheap to buy (we bought one or two on each grocery trip until we had a sufficient supply), they hold more items, and they are easier to carry.

Some people make their own, shop for them at thrift stores, or even use old pillowcases. A simple search on the Internet can give you several ideas on how to make your own.

Plastic bags may seem like a small detail in the global environmental issue, but usually “the difference is in the details.”

Because, in the end, saving the environment may be up to... “just one word…plastics.”