by Muriah Summer

Created on: November 17, 2008   Last Updated: December 01, 2008

What do we do about all those plastic grocery bags? Ireland answered this question with a stiff tax on grocery store bags, and San Francisco recently banned them entirely. Measures like these are helping, but most of the world is still struggling to find a solution to this growing problem.

But why are plastic bags a problem? Well, besides for being generally unsightly litter, plastic grocery bags cause a lot of environmental problems. They're made from petroleum, a non-renewable resource. The USA uses about 100 billion plastic bags annually, using enough petroleum to make 240 million gallons of gasoline. With gas prices soaring, that alone should be a convincing reason to stop using them. But the bags keep causing problems once we're done with them. Marine animals mistake them for food and choke on them; they collect in the ocean, never biodegrading; they wrap around coral and suffocate it. Looking at facts like these, it's clear that something must be done to stem their usage.

-Reduce-

Recycling and reusing plastic bags helps, but the best solution is reducing how many we use in the first place. Reusable grocery bags are the answer. A high quality reusable grocery bag can take the place of hundreds or even thousands of plastic bags over its lifetime. It's worth getting good quality bags- look for something strong, made out of sustainable materials such as organic cotton or hemp. You can do even more good by checking if the bag is Fair Trade produced. Many grocery stores give discounts to customers who bring their own bags; if you shop at one of these stores, a good reusable bag will pay for itself.

-Reuse-

Even if you switch to reusable grocery bags today, there are probably dozens of the old plastic ones sitting around the house. There are a lot of uses for old plastic bags which can reduce the consumption of other single-use products. They can be used as trash bags for your car, for diapers or pet waste. They make good padding when packing breakables. A librarian could keep a stash of them on hand for rainy days, to protect the books from water and the patrons from fines. Whatever you decide to use them for, make sure you don't get dependant on them. The eventual goal is to use them up and be bag-free.

If you find you tend to forget your reusable bags when shopping, try this- fold up a plastic bag very small, and find a place to tuck it into your purse, briefcase, or glove box. That way, you'll always have one on hand for emergency shopping- don't forget to put

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