Go Green with Graland: Bag the Plastic

Plastic shopping bags have become ubiquitous in our society but unfortunately their use takes a heavy toll on our environment while wasting both resources and money. For example, the Center for Marine Conservation notes that plastic bags are one of the top items of debris found in coastal cleanups, and many times marine animals die as a result of ingesting toxic plastic. Plastic also takes hundreds of years to break down, which means we are accumulating plastic at a faster rate than it is decomposing. 
Plastic shopping bags have become ubiquitous in our society but unfortunately their use takes a heavy toll on our environment while wasting both resources and money.
 
For example, the Center for Marine Conservation notes that plastic bags are one of the top items of debris found in coastal cleanups, and many times marine animals die as a result of ingesting toxic plastic. Plastic also takes hundreds of years to break down, which means we are accumulating plastic at a faster rate than it is decomposing. 
 
Here are some more eye-opening facts.
 
  • Over 3.8 billion plastic bags are expended in the US each year.*
  • Globally, that amount rises to nearly a trillion.* 
  • Retailers spend over $4 billion on bags that are used on average for less than 12 minutes.**  
  • The average family uses 10-15 plastic bags per visit to the grocery store and takes home over 1,000 plastic bags a year.
  • In the US, 4 out of 5 grocery bags are now plastic.
  • On average, Americans recycle one plastic bag for every 20 bags used.
 
Refuse to Use
Now that the holiday buying season is approaching, here are some tips for "greening" your next shopping trip. The old saying, “Reduce, reuse, recycle,” still applies.

REDUCE. Keep a stash of canvas, vinyl or plastic bags in your vehicle so these are on hand when you make a shopping trip.

REUSE. Plastic bags can be reused in multiple ways including as trash bags, doggy pick-up bags, lunch sacks and tote bags. 

RECYCLE. Most large retailers (Target, Wal-Mart and large grocery chains) have recycling bins for plastic bags and most municipal waste services also have recycling receptacles. Recycled plastic bags don’t find their way into our environment where they harm wildlife and pollute our oceans and other water systems. 
 
Make it a “green” shopping season and get into a great habit year-round by refusing to use plastic bags or bringing your reusable bags to the grocery and retail store.

*Statistics from www.conservingnow.com and the Environmental Protection Agency
 
**Statistic from the Wall Street Journal
 
Back

Graland Country Day School

Graland Country Day School is a private school in Denver, Colorado, serving students in preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school. Founded in Denver in 1927, Graland incorporates a rich, experiential learning approach in a traditional classroom setting, emphasizing the development of globally and socially conscious leaders who excel academically.