Facts and figures regarding the true cost of plastic bags

Top Facts - Consumption

# Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide. That comes out to over one million per minute. Billions end up as litter each year.

# According to the EPA, over 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps are consumed in the U.S. each year.

# According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually. (Estimated cost to retailers is $4 billion)

# According to the industry publication Modern Plastics, Taiwan consumes 20 billion bags a year—900 per person.

# According to Australia’s Department of Environment, Australians consume 6.9 billion plastic bags each year—326 per person. An estimated .7% or 49,600,000 end up as litter each year.

Top Facts - Environmental Impact

# Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, whales and other marine mammals die every year from eating discarded plastic bags mistaken for food.

# Plastic bags don’t biodegrade, they photodegrade—breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and entering the food web when animals accidentally ingest.

# As part of Clean Up Australia Day, in one day nearly 500,000 plastic bags were collected.

# Windblown plastic bags are so prevalent in Africa that a cottage industry has sprung up harvesting bags and using them to weave hats, and even bags. According to the BBC, one group harvests 30,000 per month.

# According to David Barnes, a marine scientist with the British Antarctic Survey, plastic bags have gone "from being rare in the late 80s and early 90s to being almost everywhere from Spitsbergen 78° North [latitude] to Falklands 51° South [latitude].

# Plastic bags are among the 12 items of debris most often found in coastal cleanups, according to the nonprofit Center for Marine Conservation.

Top Facts - Solutions

# In 2001, Ireland consumed 1.2 billion plastic bags, or 316 per person. An extremely successful plastic bag consumption tax, or PlasTax, introduced in 2002 reduced consumption by 90%. Approximately 18,000,000 liters of oil have been saved due to this reduced production. Governments around the world are considering implementing similar measures.

# July 2003, ReusableBags.com goes live, advancing the mainstream adoption of reusable shopping bags.

# Each high quality reusable shopping bag you use has the potential to eliminate hundreds, if not thousands, of plastic bags over its lifetime.

 

I'm all for reducing the amount of plastic bags that are used. For grocery shopping I use cloth bags instead of paper or plastic.

However, I have been wondering about the usefulness of the "biodegradable" plastic bags than can be used for trash bags and for dog poop. Sounds like a good idea but if they go to the dump with the rest of the trash are they really able to degrade (if that's a word)? I don't want to spend more if the landfill environment is not conducive to the bag's biodegradability.

Advice?

 

Here's some background from MIT's Technology Review:
http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/18562/

 

so realistically- will plastic bags go ANYWHERE, ever? they make too much money for someone to give a rats bahind what harm they cause.

we already cut those platic 6 pack holders so they don't get stuck around dolphin noses... but i;m afraid plastic bags are a reality going NOWHERE soon. if there's a way to help get rid of them on a grand scale- count me in.

 

I've read where small communities are eliminating them from grocery stores, restaurants, etc. but have to provide a substitute such as canvas, mesh bags, carts. We could start at a very local level in Broadlands with grocery stores promoting alternatives to plastic bags.

On a personal level, I have adopted my own policy where an item is packaged in plastic containers (detergents, soda, prepared/frozen foods) I will not purchase. There's one big exception though...it's milk. I cannot find regular 2% in a regular milk carton.

 

I've heard about eliminating them, too. Around here, Giant, Wegmans, Harris Teeter, and Bloom sell re-usable grocery bags for a small fee. Not only are they more earth-friendly, but they hold more and don't break as easily.

I'm not against plastics as a whole, but it seems ridiculous that the yogurt containers (both large and small) are not recyclable. Someone needs to solve that problem. Otherwise, I usually recycle all our plastic. Detergent, soda bottles, frozen dinner trays (and boxes), cereal boxes, empty paper towel & TP rolls, and water bottles (but not the lids) are all recyclable.

Obviously, it's still better to use LESS of each of these items as much as possible, but at least they can be recycled, although many people do not do it. And if you typically take a bottle of water wherever you go, buy a permanent one instead of buying a bottle of water. Reusing the empty water bottles is a good start, but if you know you're going to want some water, just use a permanent bottle - stainless steel is recommended by some eco experts.

As long as I'm on the topic, I read that many Starbucks stores will give away their used coffee grounds. Apparently coffee grounds make a good garden fertilizer. You also can buy reusable coffee filters for your coffee machine. Then you can empty the grounds out into another container and use them in your garden or yard. Will most coffee places allow you to bring your own mug and fill it for you?

--off my soapbox now--

 

The Starbucks in SW Plaza offers their coffee grounds.

 

Grocer Encourages Use of Reusable Shopping Bags, Declaring Today "Bring Your Own Bag Day;" Celebrates by Giving Away Over 50,000 Reusable Bags to Customers Companywide

AUSTIN, Texas. (January 22, 2008). Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFMI), the world's leading natural and organic foods supermarket, announced today it will end the use of disposable plastic grocery bags at the checkouts in all of its 270 stores in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. with the goal to be plastic bag-free by Earth Day, April 22, 2008.

"Central to Whole Foods Market's core values is caring for our communities and the environment, and this includes adopting wise environmental practices," said A.C. Gallo, co-president and chief operating officer for Whole Foods Market. "More and more cities and countries are beginning to place serious restrictions on single-use plastic shopping bags since they don't break down in our landfills, can harm nature by clogging waterways and endangering wildlife, and litter our roadsides. Together with our shoppers, our gift to the planet this Earth Day will be reducing our environmental impact as we estimate we will keep 100 million new plastic grocery bags out of our environment between Earth Day and the end of this year alone."

The first U.S. supermarket to commit to completely eliminating disposable plastic grocery bags to help protect the environment and conserve resources, Whole Foods Market has declared today "Bring Your Own Bag Day" and will give out over 50,000 reusable shopping bags to customers at the checkouts this morning to celebrate today's announcement. "We hope to inspire shoppers to prompt positive environmental change by adopting the reusable bag mindset," added Gallo.

"Doing away with plastic grocery bags won't just help protect marine life, it's a key move in shifting us away from a 'consume-and-dispose' mentality," says Lisa Mastny, editor of the Worldwatch Institute report Oceans in Peril. "Disposable plastic bags can linger in the environment for more than 1,000 years and are the major debris item found on the seabed, especially near the coast."

"During our International Coastal Cleanup each year, our volunteers find hundreds of thousands of bags on beaches and in the ocean posing a threat to birds, turtles and other marine life. As people continue to learn more about the impact their lifestyle has on the environment, we find they are looking for personal solutions to global problems," said Laura Capps, senior vice president of communications and outreach with Ocean Conservancy. "We applaud Whole Foods Market for encouraging their customers to bring re-usable bags when shopping and for making better stewardship of our environment a part of their everyday lives."

Beginning immediately, each store in the Company will work on depleting stocks of disposable plastic grocery bags at the checkouts and will help raise awareness about the benefits of reusable bags. Over the next three months, stores will reduce plastic grocery bag inventories and increase selections of reusable bags for purchase.

Whole Foods Market has encouraged shoppers to bring their own bags for years by offering a refund of either five or ten cents at the checkouts, depending on the store. The Company also sells different types of reusable bags, ranging from canvas to its new large, stylish "A Better Bag" - a sound environmental choice since 80 percent of its content comes from recycled plastic bottles and it is an economical choice as well since it costs only 99 cents.

"Before Whole Foods Market decided to do away with this disposable plastic grocery bags at our checkouts, we ran tests in San Francisco, Toronto and Austin. Customers have overwhelmingly supported the plastic bag ban initiated by Whole Foods Market in these cities and applauded the progressive stance the stores have taken," said Gallo. "The response has been incredibly positive, and our customers are thanking us for doing this. Additionally, our Team Members are excited and passionate about taking this initiative, and we're finding it's created a great forum for discussion and awareness at the checkout counters."

Although the natural and organic grocer hopes to inspire shoppers to bring their own reusable bags, the Company will continue to offer an environmentally sensitive option when needed - 100 percent recycled paper grocery bags. Last year, Whole Foods Market became the first and only food retailer in North America to offer these recycled paper grocery bags made with 100 percent recycled fiber content, which also are completely recyclable.

Discontinuing disposable plastic grocery bags at the checkouts is another step in the Company's ongoing effort to provide more Earth-friendly bags and containers in its stores. Recently, Whole Foods Market stores began using all-natural fiber packaging at its salad and food bars. The fibers for the new containers come from plants that are cultivated or grow wild and are harvested annually. Additionally, the Company continues to seek alternatives to plastic bags in its bulk, produce, bakery and seafood departments.

"We realize there are many more steps to take, and we recognize it's an ongoing process to provide as much Earth-friendly packaging as possible," said Gallo. "We will continue to evaluate each department within our stores as we seek to continually improve."

Finally, I would like to approach, Harris Teeter, Safeway and Giant to do the same. As a "Certified Wildlife Habitat Community, it is our commitment to work on positive changes like this one.

 

That reminds me that at Giant (at least the one by Home Depot in Ashburn) gives three cents back if you bring your own bag. I don't think it applies when you do the self-checkout, though.

 

We recently switched to using only the canvas store bags. The back of my car is full of Harris Teeter's and Wegman's canvas bags, so we have them for both places that we shop. The ones from Harris Teeter are especially roomy and have great handles. I've noticed quite a few people using them, and they have helped us cut down on the number of both paper and plastic bags that we use.

 

Heck, I use the Wegmans bags at whatever store I go to! Nobody has complained yet.

 

I wanted to do that but was over-ruled (by my better half). There are some things that are not worth the fight, especially when the canvas bags cost 99 cents each.

 

the plastic bags sure do come in handy though when my daughter's diaper is filled with the bad stuff.....can't double bag it w/ the canvas bags

 

For sure. That's why I had my original question about the biodegradable plastic bags -- we have two cats and I have litterboxes to clean. Not to mention the dog poop issue other people have. The plastic bags have some good uses. I wouldn't mind buying biodegradable ones but if they go to a landfill where they don't have the chance to degrade, what's the point, right?

 

Agree. We use the plastic bags for litter and dog poop as well. And I've read that even paper bags are not a good substitute for plastic bags because they don't break down when they're buried and compressed in a landfill without access to air.

 

You cannot think that they care about the sale of the bag, which is probably at a loss! I'm sure that it would make the Teeter manager happy to see a Wegmans bag. He would figure that he had stolen another customer from Wegmans! :rolleyes3:
You could use an LL Bean Bag, or your "I [heart] Communism" bag!

What about the recycling receptacles for bags? Doesn't that help?

 

Just put the diaper directly into the garbage can in your garage! I'm sure that your garage and car will smell like daisies!

 

Like I said, I was over-ruled. After many years, I have learned not to fight the fights that I cannot win. Thankfully, we only ever shop at Wegman's and Teeters, as they are only grocers in the area that seem to understand that it's not right to sell food that is out of date!

 

In the wintertime that actually might work. It's the 90+ degree temps that cause the lovely aromas... "Quick, get in the car, kid!!!"