theoryofpropoganda:

The benefits of eco-friendly shopping bags, spread the word!

Plastic Bag Facts

• An estimated 100 billion plastic bags are used in the United States every year
• Worldwide, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are used
• Although plastic bags are recyclable,less than 3% of them actually are. The rest end up in landfills, oceans, and as litter
• An estimated4 billion plastic bags end up as litter each year worldwide
• 4 out of 10 people believe plastic bags will biodegrade, even though they won’t
• In landfills,plastic bags sit for roughly 1,000 years before decomposing and release toxic chemicals into the soil during decomposition.
• In our oceans,plastic debris was found in almost 75% of dead sea turtles in 2002
• Further, there are reports of problems with entanglement or ingestion of marine debris, including plastic bags, in 86% of all known species of sea turtles
• An EPA ranking of chemicals that produce the most hazardous waste showed 5 of the top 6 were used by the plastics industry
• An estimated 12 million barrels of oil is required to produce the plastic bags used in the US each year

How Reusable Bags Help

Using reusable eco-friendly bags will lessen our demand for plastic bags, in theory reducing the production of them and the associated pollution and oil consumption. At the very least, reuse does not “support” the pollution that the creation of plastic bags creates.

On a Personal Level:

• Reusing just one bag in your daily life (grocery/home shopping, trips to the beach/pool, gym, picnics, festivals, travel, etc.) can “eliminate” the use of approximately 6 plastic bags every week.
• Saving 6 bags a week works out to 288 bags a year
• Adopting the use of reusable bags for one’s entire life can “save” (reduce) the need for over 20,000 plastic bags

(via ecodex)