Plastic bags are one of the main causes of pollution in our world today.

Fortunately, it is also something we can change very easily. Many forward-thinking stores in the US - and countries worldwide - are doing just that.

Some Plastic Bag Facts:

• Between 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are produced worldwide each year.
  
  
• Bags are made from fossil fuel-based polymers and are nearly indestructible. These bags take years to break down and often end up in landfills.
  
  
• Bags that don't end up in land fills choke rivers, clog the the sea, and harm wildlife. Plastic bags are one of the 12 most common items of debris found
  in coastal clean-ups.
  
  
• When 1 ton of plastic bags is reused or recycled, the energy equivalent of 11 barrels of oil are saved.
  
  
• Reusing a 'one use' bag has a huge positive impact. If a sturdy, reusable bag is used just 11 times, it will have a lower environmental impact than using 11 disposable plastic bags. Read more at Sierra.org.
  

Reusable Bags.com has put together a timeline of how countries around the world are tackling their plastic bag problem

 

What You Can Do

There are many simple things you can do each day to help reduce plastic bag waste.

• Just say "no" to a bag when buying something small.
• Re-use your plastic bags for carrying or storing other items.
• Instead of buying trash bags use your plastic bags on your trash cans.
• Use a reusable cloth bag when shopping.

For more ideas on re-using plastic bags, read 9 Ways to Use One Less Plastic Bag - Boston Globe, November 2007.

 

Watch this video

 

Articles & Facts of Interest

• Motivated by a Tax, Irish Spurn Plastic Bags - NY Times, February 2, 2008.
  Ireland has just passed a tax on plastic bags. Customers who want them must now pay 33 cents per bag at the register!
  
  
• Plastic Bags Increasingly Under Fire - Baltimore Sun, January 2008.
  
  
• The Time Has come to Kill All Plastic Bags - Globe & Mail, February 11,2008.
  China is banning the distribution of free plastic shopping bags, effective this June.
  
  
• The city of San Francisco passed a ban on plastic shopping bags at large supermarkets and chain pharmacies, the first such law in the United States. Sierra Magazine, July/August 2007.

Dominica Green Bags

“We love our green bags - they hold lots of groceries and are very sturdy. Thanks for helping us go green.” V & B, Ontario, Canada.

• Order your Dominica Green Bag today