This first post is all about the unrealized enemy. The plastic bag. Most people don't think twice when asked "Paper or plastic" by their baggers in the stores, but this weeks video really put things into perspective for me. I do have a few reusable shopping totes, which are conveniently placed in a bin in my closet, but as I look around my house I can spot at least thirteen plastic bags being used for various things. I never remember to dig my reusable shopping totes out when I leave for the store. But now after seeing some of the images in this video, I want to go out and buy 5 or 6 more and store them on a hook in my kitchen as a reminder! One thing that I hadn't realized was the amount of plastic bags that are just simply discarded. Especially in developing countries.
I was really moved by the parts that surrounded the ocean. I have a passion for ocean conservation, so when I saw the clip of dolphins playing with the plastic bags instead of kelp or seaweed, or the one talking about how 6 in 10 turtles sampled had plastic inside their digestive tract (some were packed from throat to their behind with it!), it really affected me. Also, the fact that only a few grams of plastic is enough to kill a 100 pound sea turtle is just one of those shocking facts that makes me stop and realize what this is doing to our planet.
The video stated that the plastic bag has a lifespan of anywhere from 400-1000 years! That is a crazy long time. The representative supporting the plastic bag kept arguing that they didn't want to create something that would "just disappear" but that would be able to be used over and over and over again. I don't know about you, but I have no intention to pass my plastic bags down from generation to generation, so why fight the biodegradable bags? It makes no sense to have pride in a product that is inorganic and will "last forever" as they say.
I was very inspired by the woman who went to her town council to have plastic bags banned, yet she was turned away with laughter. Instead of accepting defeat, she went right to the shop owners. And they all decided to stop offering plastic bags after watching a documentary she worked on, "Hawaii: Message in the Waves". Also in San Francisco, the government voted 10 out of 11 votes to ban the use of plastic bags in their main stores was another inspiration. It shows that no matter what size your town or city, or how many supporters you have (the one woman, or the 10 government officials, or even the hundreds of people who do it on their own) you can make a difference if you try hard enough.
One of the things I think we can do to deal with plastic bag waste is to advertise the fact that they are recyclable. Not every town and city allows it in their recycling programs, but I know main stores like Target, Walmart, and Pick n Save (in WI) all have bins to bring them in to recycle them. But I don't think they advertise it at all. I honestly didn't even know we could do that until recently. I think if we all act locally, we can solve this problem globally. If everyone were to just take the extra step to recycle instead of just throwing it into the trash for convenience, we COULD change the world for our children and generations to come.
