BAG THE PLASTIC BAG
California moves to ban plastic bags at grocery stores
California is set to be the first state in the nation to outlaw plastic shopping bags - and charge shoppers at least 5 cents for paper ones. The bill, which passed the state Assembly 41-27 and is expected to pass the state Senate by the end of its session, goes further than even San Francisco’s ban. It would prohibit stores from offering plastic bags beginning in January 2012 and extend the prohibition to convenience stores, drugstores and smaller businesses by July.
According to bill author Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, Santa Monica, California taxpayers spend about $25 million every year picking up and disposing of stray plastic bags.
Paper bags, though not as environmentally destructive, are costly and are also rarely recycled. It’s proper for this bill to account for their overall cost, too.
The best bag is the one that you bring from home. And though it may require all of us to make small personal adjustments, the benefit of a cleaner environment is a big one that we’ll all share.
Whole Foods in Venice, California and in El Segundo, California carry my line of eco-jute totes. The jute totes are as strong and durable as they are stylish. These must-have reusable totes are made of 100% jute, a natural, biodegradable fiber that continues to look better with age, and use only environmentally friendly , water-based ink dyes. I carry at least 4 of the eco-jutes in my car at all times. Whenever I do any kind of shopping, I take Green Girl’s stylish reusable shopping totes with me. You care about the Earth–so say it with style- SHOP DIFFERENTLY!
To purchase the Green Girl eco-jutes that feature catchy, Earth-friendly messages http://www.greengirlworld.com/eco-jutes.html There are four different designs:
**BAG THE PLASTIC BAG
**BYOB **TRIM YOUR WASTE **DON’T BE PLASTIC
Consider the following facts:
**Plastic bags are made of polyethylene which is a petroleum product **Production contributes to air pollution and energy consumption **Four to five trillion plastic bags are manufactured each year **Only 1% of plastic bags are recycled **60,000 plastic bags are used in the US every five seconds **It takes 1000 years for polyethylene bags to break down and this leaches toxic substances that enter the food chain **Approximately 1 billion seabirds and mammals die per year by ingesting plastic bags **Plastic bags are often mistaken as food by marine mammals and 100,000 marine mammals die a painful death as the plastic wraps around their intestines or they choke to death **Plastic bags choke landfills **Plastic bags are carried by the wind into forests, ponds, rivers, and lakes