 |
|
 |
|
Elimination of Single-Use Shopping Bags Eliminating Single-Use Shopping Bags In an effort to reduce the number of single-use bags in Marin County, the Marin County Hazardous and Solid Waste Management Joint Powers Authority (JPA) has embarked on an educational campaign to address the negative impacts of single-use bags. Part of this campaign includes JPA representatives visiting Marin's Farmers' markets to distribute reusable canvas shopping bags and speak with shoppers. JPA estimates this bag giveaway along with bags distributed by Mollie Stone's and Whole Foods could divert 138 million bags annually from Marin's landfill. Additional bags are limited and will be handed out while supplies last at the following locations starting tomorrow:
> Wednesday evening at the Mill Valley Concert in the Park It is estimated that 500 billion to 1 trillion bags are now used worldwide every year. According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. alone goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually and the average family collects 60 plastic bags in only four trips to the grocery store. An estimated 12 million barrels of oil are wasted producing plastic bags. In landfills, plastic bags may take up to 1,000 years to degrade. Eventually they will break down into tiny toxic particles polluting our soils, rivers, lakes and oceans. Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, whales and other marine mammals die every year from eating discarded plastic bags mistaken for food.
Paper bags can be recycled, however, it takes more than four times the amount of energy to produce a paper bag as is does to manufacture a plastic bag. In 1999, 14 million trees were cut to produce 10 billion grocery bags used by Americans. Compostable bags are a good alternative, but currently these bags only decompose well under ideal conditions seen in commercial composting facilities. However, compostable bags are often removed from these facilities since they are often indistinguishable from plastic. In addition, they can contaminate conventional plastic film recycling streams.
|