The city of Arlington (Texas) is considering a bold move. They are discussing a ban on plastic shopping bags. Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck says the bags not only contribute to litter and make the city look trashy, but they are environmentally unfriendly. It takes a plastic bag a lot longer time to decompose than a paper bag.
I think this is a great idea and I hope many other cities decide to follow suit. In addition to the litter and environmental problems, these bags also use up a considerable amount of petroleum. If they were outlawed all over the country, it would save a considerable amount of oil.
About three weeks ago, the excellent blog bluedaze went even further, saying we should ban both plastic and paper shopping bags. She lists 5 reasons why this would be a good thing:
1.The petroleum in 14 plastic bags could drive a car 1 mile.
2.Americans use over 14 billion plastic bags annually. (That's 1 billion miles)
3.It takes 70% more global warming gasses to make a paper bag than a plastic bag.
4.Paper bags do not biodegrade in landfills
5.Cities spend up to 17 cents per bag in disposal costs. (That's $2,380,000,000.00)
2.Americans use over 14 billion plastic bags annually. (That's 1 billion miles)
3.It takes 70% more global warming gasses to make a paper bag than a plastic bag.
4.Paper bags do not biodegrade in landfills
5.Cities spend up to 17 cents per bag in disposal costs. (That's $2,380,000,000.00)
She points out the Irish have already done this, and they are getting along just fine with reuseable cloth bags. There's no reason why Americans can't do the same.
The plastic (and paper) bags are a convenient way to haul our purchases home from the store, but then they just litter our landscape and clog our landfills. It is time we consider giving up a few conveniences for the good of our planet.
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