Wrangling Plastic Bags
Made from petroleum or natural gas
They are in the trees and in the fences. Plastic grocery bags have more lives than a politician. The most important things to remember about dealing with plastic grocery bags is:
First - REDUCE
Second - REUSE
Third - RECYCLE
There are between 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags "consumed" worldwide (380 billion in the U.S. alone per USEPA) every year. Some get recycled, some are reused as tote bags and many are discarded in the form of litter.
The manufacturers continue to make the argument between "paper or plastic" but this argument makes no sense if we never use paper and drastically reduce our use of plastic. By using canvas or net bags we save trees, reduce oil use, clean our streets and eliminate the question all together.
Reduce - Bring your own bags
Reuse - Specific tasks may require the reuse of a plastic bag
Recycle - Better than throwing them out into the garbage (official waste stream) or the "litter" stream
Information Links:
Paper or Plastic - A plastic fee
More on the debate in Wikipedia
Ask John Jurinek, the plant manager at Recycle Central, what's wrong with plastic bags and he has a one-word answer: "Everything."
SourceWatch on Progressive Bag Alliance
Trex - Plastic recycling program FAQ
The Society of the Plastics Industry
Drop-off locations
American Chemistry Council - Info Sheet
