I was surprised when I moved here 6 years ago at the number of people who didn't bring their own bags. It had become the norm in my old Florida community.
My son used to work at Albertson's and they offered five cents off if you brought your own bags---and that paltry amount was enough to get people to do it. Someone pointed out, people have no problems doing it at Aldi and Sam'. In England and Ireland on my last trip you had to pay if you wanted a plastic bag.
and if everyone doesn't start becoming a "tree hugger" soon, then our children and grandchildren will pay for it. Even if you re-use them, they are still bad for the environment. You can buy biodegradable poop bags for for less than one cent.
I don't think it's too much to ask. and while they are at it, Publix should go to the same system as Aldi's for cart returns. It only takes 25 cents to get people to bring back a cart.
Americans use 100 billion plastic bags a year, which require 12 million barrels of oil to manufacture.
It only takes about 14 plastic bags for the equivalent of the gas required to drive one mile.
The average American family takes home almost 1,500 plastic shopping bags a year.
According to Waste Management, only 1 percent of plastic bags are returned for recycling. That means that the average family only recycles 15 bags a year; the rest end up in landfills or as litter.
Up to 80 percent of ocean plastic pollution enters the ocean from land.
At least 267 different species have been affected by plastic pollution in the ocean.
100,000 marine animals are killed by plastic bags annually.
One in three leatherback sea turtles have been found with plastic in their stomachs.
Plastic bags are used for an average of 12 minutes
It takes 500 (or more) years for a plastic bag to degrade in a landfill. Unfortunately the bags don't break down completely but instead photo-degrade, becoming microplastics that absorb toxins and continue to pollute the environment.
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