Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Recycle and Reuse

Taken from http://www.go-againbags.com/ -

Say "No" to paper & plastic!
Did you know....
In the USA, we use 100 BILLION plastic bags per year! Less than 1% are recycled.
It takes more than 20 million barrels of oil to produce them!
The petroleum based plastic breaks into tiny particles that contaminate soil in waterways.
Many countries have banned plastic bags due to their detrimental impact on the environment. Australia, Ireland, South Africa, India and Kenya already have bans in areas.
San Francisco recently passed a bill banning plastic shopping bags in their city.
What about paper bags?
They require four times as much energy to produce than plastic.
Paper also takes 85 times as much energy as plastic to recycle them.
Paper takes up to nine times as much space in landfills compared to plastic

And I thought that I was doing a good thing by using paper bags! Ugh! And a double whammy when I use paper and plastic! I ordered some bags and some lucky people will be getting some for Christmas! Shhh - don't tell! They are really affordable - a little more than a dollar a bag when you order 10 or so! Bigger quantities cost less. I like the cooler bag option too - for ice cream on a 95 degree summer day! Or for running late at the grocery store and you have to pick the kids up from school on the way home!



For a more stylish options I saw an add for Envirosax in Parent's Magazine. The link is http://www.envirosax.com/. These bags are little more expensive - $35 for 5 bags. They are nylon and roll up very small and if you order in packs of 5 they come with a handy carrying pouch that can fit in your glove box or purse. The site says they hold as much as 2-3 plastic grocery bags.

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