Class is over but cloth is still way cooler then plastic!!!!

Let me take this time to reflect…..

My experience as a whole with my PSP has been a success. I catch myself now making a conscious effort to always use a cloth bag instead of plastic ones. I also noticed the two or three times I forgot my cloth bags at least one of the plastic bags has ripped and my groceries have fallen on the ground. Honestly if my own frustration with the plastic bags always breaking was not a factor I am not sure if I would fully commit to only using cloth bags. Although it was nice to be able to carry fewer bags because the cloth bags carry a lot more groceries then the small plastic bags the stores give you.

Plastic Bags are awful….

There are many social and environmental effects of using cloth bags instead of plastic ones. By using cloth bags you are polluting the world less by not filling our landfills with the toxic waste plastic bags emit when they partially break down over time (pg. 1 James). More money is also being put back into our pockets by using cloth versus plastic bags because plastic bags are expensive to make when they are being used so much. Cloth bags are reusable and not only are they used to carry groceries they also can carry clothes, shoes, dishes etc… which plastic bags cannot do for the most part without breaking or ripping.

Too many plastic bags in the world….

On the average a single person uses 500 plastic bags a year so by me using only cloth bags I am reducing my pollution by 500 plastic bags. That means possibly 500 less animals will be killed by me not using these bags (pg. 1 Green). So economically that is 500 more fish that can be harvested and sold by someone as food to make a profit which helps our economy. By me setting an example like many others by only using cloth bags when we buy groceries may lead someone to follow in our footsteps. In some way using cloth bags over plastic bags can be connected economically, socially, and environmentally. We all benefit by cloth bags by saving money, polluting the world less, and being socially happier because we are all working together for the common good. Here is a video of one man that is trying to do his part at saving the environment one less plastic bag at a time http://youtu.be/ZI8gXBZcS2U.

We all gotta work together….

I do not believe that individually if I continue using cloth bags that I will have a large enough global impact. The only way I could have a global impact is if I get others to refrain from using plastic bags as well. If large numbers of people refused to use plastic bags and solely used cloth bags then that would be thousands maybe even millions of less bags in landfills which would result in a healthier safer planet altogether.

Say NOOOOO to plastic bags….

I learned today about the plastic bag ban in Corvallis, OR which should be coming into effect soon which would require everyone to use reusable bags rather than plastic. People who chose to use the plastic bags must pay a fee. With this ban being implemented in the town I currently live in I will more than likely continue with my PSP. I cannot afford not to use reusable cloth bags as a single mother and full-time college student because money is an issue already. I’m not saying by any means that the future ban is the sole motivator because I often worry about how I can make the world a better more sustainable place for my future children once I pass away.

Photo Credits: Gwensmom@Flikr, Bad Bad Magpie@flikr

Cloth Bags for Christmas….

Overall I learned a lot of how harmful using plastic bags can be. I originally chose to do my PSP because I was annoyed with the amount of space all the plastic bags took up under my sink but now I use cloth bags rather than plastic ones to save our planet. I never really thought about how much impact a plastic bag can have on the environment and how much money can be saved by using reusable cloth bags versus plastic bags until I started this project. Now every time I have to resort to using a plastic bag I am usually angered and I feel guilty because I know how much damage this single bag can possible do to our planet. This project has inspired me so for Christmas I am thinking of getting everyone in my family a reusable cloth grocery bag in hopes that they all too will follow in my foot steps and help our planet be more sustainable.

 

Photo By: Chelsea Duffy

 

Reference:

Green, S. (2004, July 22). Don’t Think of a Plastic Bag. 2. Retrieved from http://www.algalita.org/pdf/Action-sheet.pdf

James, K., & Grant , T. (2010, October). LCA of Degradable Plastic Bags. Info House, 17.