One disturbing paradox of life in the modern world is that our garbage simply disappears. But of course it really doesn't, it just goes someplace else. Someplace usually out of sight and thus, out of mind. But it is piling up someplace and the pile is getting very very large! If there really was a single pile of the world's garbage from simply the past year, it would be nothing less than horrifying. But there isn't one pile, there are many thousands of piles. Somehow that makes us less concerned. But do we really want these piles of garbage to continue to grow in-perpetuity and become our legacy to future generations? That includes your children and grandchildren. They WILL have to deal with this problem if we don't!
But what can I do?
There are many answers but one is very important and you can do it by simply dropping a small expectation.
When they ask you "paper or plastic" at the supermarket, say "neither" and hand them your own reusable canvas bags!
Our original NotAWaste canvas bags are printed with a few of the many compelling facts that emphasize the importance of reducing needless waste and pollution and our new EcoChic design suggests it is stylish to care.
- Americans consume 100 billion plastic shopping bags every year. Over 500 billion are consumed worldwide and about 4 billion become general litter.
- Plastic bags don't "biodegrade", they break down into tiny toxic bits which contaminate soil and water. They can take 1,000 years to break down.
- Fourteen million trees were cut in 1999 to produce the ten billion paper grocery bags used by Americans that year.
- Each ton of recycled paper can save 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, three cubic yards of landfill space, 4,000 kilowatts of energy and 7,000 gallons of water.
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 This senseless and wasteful situation is already being dealt with in Europe (and elsewhere) through a common sense change in the way people expect to shop. When you checkout at the supermarket in much of Europe, you have to pay for the bags you use! Most people either reuse the bags or bring more rugged bags of their own to avoid the extra cost and reduce the waste. People in Europe are accustomed to thinking more efficiently about such matters. A similar situation will ultimately develop in the US out of necessity and by then, it will be well past the right time to modify people's shopping behavior. The time is now to stop accepting disposable bags from the stores you shop with. Send a smart message to the store's management and the customers in line with you by bringing your own durable and re-usable canvas bags with you!
By the way ... those "free" bags are NOT free. You pay for them in the cost of your groceries and you pay to have the trash removed and piled up somewhere. Your children will pay most dearly by inheriting a polluted world.
Click here to purchase your own durable canvas NotAWaste bags!
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