Plastic grocery bags harm the environment through their entire lifecycle, from fossil fuel extraction to slow fragmentation in ecosystems.
Resource Use and Production
Fossil Fuels: Plastic bags are made from non-renewable petroleum and natural gas. Extracting and refining these resources releases millions of metric tons of greenhouse gases.
High Consumption: The world uses roughly 5 trillion plastic bags every year—averaging about 365 bags per person annually in the United States.
Low Recycling Rates and Waste
Rarely Recycled: More than 87% of plastic bags and wraps are never recycled, ending up in landfills or the environment.
Machinery Damage: When tossed into curbside recycling bins, flexible bags wrap around sorting equipment, forcing costly municipal facility shutdowns.
Drainage Clogs: Lightweight bags blow away easily, clogging urban sewers, stormwater drains, and waterways, which drives up city cleanup costs.
Persistence and Microplastics
Centuries to Break Down: A single plastic bag takes anywhere from 20 to 1,000 years to decompose in a landfill or environment.
Microplastic Contamination: Instead of biodegrade completely, they photo-degrade into tiny microplastics and nanoplastics that infiltrate soil, water, and food chains.
Toxic Leachates: As they break down, they release chemical additives that can impair marine microorganisms like Prochlorococcus, which produce a significant share of the Earth’s oxygen.
Harms to Wildlife
Ingestion and Choking: Animals like sea turtles, birds, and cattle mistake floating or buried bags for food, leading to stomach blockages, starvation, and death.
Entanglement: Wildlife frequently becomes tangled in discarded plastic film, restricting movement, hunting, or breathing.
On Saturday, Nov 21st, we have a very special class led by Paula that starts at 10 am after our garden work tasks.
She will lead us on how to paint our very own sustainable totes. All supplies are provided. Max capcity is 25 participants. Each participant gets to take home their own custom painted tote they made themselves.
When you lead by example and give people an opportunity to do better, they usually do!
