Did you BYOB the last time you went shopping?This is a question every person must ask themselves. We are flying through 2010 and there has in no way been a more vital era to bring your own reusable grocery bags. When you BYOB, rather than using single-use plastic or paper disposable bags, you immediately become a piece of the answer to the enormous urban waste quandary linked with disposable shopping bag waste. As of July 1, 2010, it is estimated that over 240 billion plastic bags have been consumed in 2010 alone. What ís yet even more alarming is the impact that plastic and paper throw-away bags are continuing to have on the natural environment. The function of this article is to review the latest reports regarding large-scale efforts to cut down on the use of plastic and paper disposable bags along with the associated waste, and discuss what options are available to us individual consumers in order to know for sure we are a part of the answer to this crisis.
The good news is that BYOB momentum is increasing quickly in 2010. Provided you havenít heard the news yet, the California legislature has proposed a bill; AB 1998 (to be voted on by the Senate in August), which would ban disposable bags sold within supermarkets, drugstores, convenience, and liquor stores and take complete effect by 2013. Even ìThe Governatorî, Arnold Schwarzenegger, said that he would sign the bill if it makes it to his desk. This certainly could be a gigantic victory for all friends of the natural environment to have the biggest state, within the third biggest nation in the world, to place a prohibition on throw-away plastic bags. Considering that China first cracked down on plastic bags in 2008 and Ireland legislative efforts to diminish plastic bag consumption all started in 2002, it is so terrific to be made aware that California legislators have brought this possible law to the table.
In the United States, metropolitan areas from San Francisco to Los Angeles to Washington DC have approved or enacted laws and regulations that either tax patrons for the utilization of plastic bags or prohibit them altogether, but California would be the first American state to take action if this bill were to pass. Believe it or not, even state representatives from the state of Texas have written legislation that would insert a seven-cent tax for every throw-away bag used. It is so exciting that there is a possibility that both Texas and California may possibly soon have laws and regulations in place to battle the plastic bag epidemic. Efforts by individuals and governments to shrink large-scale use of throw-away shopping bags is a wonderful technique to motivate people and spread the word regarding the overwhelmingly positive benefits of ecologically friendly reusable shopping bags.
Plastic bags can take up to a thousand years to biodegrade completely, and before that it just decomposes down in smaller and even tinier toxic pieces that find their way inside our food, water, and soil. Biodegradable reusable grocery bags, are a good quality alternative, once thrown away in landfill sites, the subjection to daylight, air, and high temperature will convert these bags into liquid, carbon dioxide, mineral salt and biomass. Akin to a fallen leaf, it will disappear over time and leave NO Dangerous Residue in the soil. Plastic grocery bags finish up inside our landfills as well as regularly get tangled and bring about permanent problems in waste management equipment. Hundreds of millions if not billions of other bags end up as urban litter and commonly find their way in to rivers, resevoirs, streams, as well as the ocean. Creatures, especially nautical animals, get intertwined in plastic bags, and/or consume them and often suffocate or starve to death.
So the remedy brings us back to BYOB, which is incredibly effortless. Just remember to utilize ecologically friendly reusable grocery bags or recycled green bags, or reuse an old bag, period. Be sure to keep spare reusable bags in your car or in your rucksack, because you will want to ensure that they are handy when you want them. Also remember to wash your bags following use, especially after transporting raw foods or cleaning supplies. You should also present them to your friends as a reminder to BYOB. Of course, continuously remember to recycle every time the chance presents itself, recycling is always a win-win situation for the natural environment. Instituting a BYOB habit in our personal lives and organizations is in truth the finest way to guarantee we are truly part of the resolution rather than the problem. Right now is the time to go out and lead by example.