Greenversations

One day in my Global Environmental Issues class, a professor showed us a video on the floating island of plastic in the Pacific Ocean, commonly called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. I never knew the trouble that the convenient plastic bag could cause. On that day I decided to make a change in my life to reduce my contribution to the garbage patch and my carbon footprint in general. I wanted to do something productive to make a difference. I decided to stop using plastic bags. It may be a small step but at least it’s a step in the right direction. By switching to reusable bags I became a little greener and much happier.

I bought my first bag on Earth Day 2007 and I haven’t looked back. Now I use that bag and the few others I have accumulated every time I buy groceries or take a trip to the mall. Being a very poor college student, I never need more than one or two reusable bags when I shop. Those few bags carry for me about the same amount approximately seven plastic bags would hold — not to mention they are foldable and fit into my purse that I carry everywhere.

Now, with my reusable bags, I am helping the planet and making my walk to the apartment with the groceries much easier. Let’s face it: Two bags are easier to manage than seven that have a tendency to rip and tear. Next time a cashier asks you; “Paper or plastic?” say, “Neither!” and pull out your reusable shopping bag instead.

About the Author: Ashley White is a current undergraduate student at Virginia Tech. She is interning with OCHPEE for the summer.

About the author: Brenda Reyes Tomassini joined EPA in 2002. She is a public affairs specialist in the San Juan, Puerto Rico office and also handles community relations for the Caribbean Environmental Protection Division

On a recent Sunday morning, I went to a local clothing store to purchase a gift bag for a present that one of my kids was taking to a birthday party. I usually keep recyclable gift bags at home, but this day, I had none. Upon paying, I proceeded to put the rather small bag in my purse along with the receipt. The cashier told me that I needed to put the gift bag in a plastic bag because it was store policy not to let customers walk out of the store with unbagged merchandise. Baffled, I placed my purchase in the store bag, but not before telling her that in Europe and some other islands in the Caribbean, stores either tax their customers for their use or simply don’t provide them. Her reply was the same: store policy.

I remember as a child, going with my mother to the supermarket and packing our groceries in paper bags. These were later reused. I fondly recall tearing them at the seams and using the inside for drawing and making crafts. I also remember how brown paper bags gradually disappeared from our lives when plastic ones were introduced in 1977.

Each year plastic bags cause the death of hundreds of thousands of sea birds and marine animals that mistake them for food. Paper, if not recycled, can fill our landfills and contribute in the long run to climate change. Both, paper and plastic require a lot of energy and raw materials to be produced.

But old habits die hard and our local businesses and industries have been slow in adopting sustainable and green practices. Even though some sell reusable bags, when the time comes to pack their purchases, I only see a small number of people using them. Some non-profit and environmental organizations in the United States have proposed a tax on plastic bags to discourage their use. In 2007, the city of San Francisco, California passed a city ordinance to ban plastic bag use in supermarkets and pharmacies. In Ireland, and since 2002, citizens have been paying a tax to use plastic bags. In turn, their use has dropped by 90% and the government has raised money for recycling programs. As more cities and countries declare a ban on plastic bags, retailers and consumers need to be aware that there is more than paper or plastic. And that is Bring Your Own.

Sobre la autor: Brenda Reyes Tomassini joined EPA in 2002. She is a public affairs specialist in the San Juan, Puerto Rico office and also handles community relations for the Caribbean Environmental Protection Division.

Recientemente fui un domingo en la mañana a una tienda a comprar una bolsa para poner un regalo que mi hija menor llevaría a un cumpleaños. Usualmente tengo de estas bolsas recicladas para poner regalos en la casa, pero ese día descubrí que no quedaba ninguna. Una vez pagué tomé el recibo junto a la bolsa de regalo y los puse dentro de mi cartera. La cajera, contrariada, me indicó que no podía hacer esto ya que era política de la tienda no dejar salir a los clientes con mercancía en otra cosa que no fuese una bolsa de plástico. Sorprendida, puse mi compra en la bolsa que me brindó no sin antes proceder a indicarle que en Europa e inclusive en otras islas del Caribe los negocios imponen un impuesto a los clientes que utilizan bolsas de plástico o simplemente no las proveen. Su respuesta: política de la tienda.

Todavía recuerdo mis tiempos de niña en los cuales iba con mi mamá al supermercado y empacábamos nuestra compra en bolsas de papel. Éstas eran reusadas luego. De pequeña me gustaba cortarlas por las costuras y utilizar su exterior para dibujar y hacer manualidades. Pero un día estas bolsas color marrón desaparecieron de nuestras vidas y rutinas diarias cuando las bolsas plásticas aparecieron en 1977.

Cada año estas bolsas plásticas causan la muerte de cientos de miles de aves y animales marinos que las confunden con comida. [http://vidamarinapr.blogspot.com/2008_03_01_archive.html ] El papel, si no se recicla, puede llenar nuestros vertederos y contribuir a la larga al cambio climático. Tanto el papel como el plástico requieren mucha energía y materia prima para ser manufacturados.

Hay un dicho que dice que los hábitos viejos son terribles de cambiar y nuestras industrias y comercios locales han tardado en adoptar prácticas de sustentabilidad y amigables al medioambiente. Aunque algunos venden bolsas reutilizables para llevar la compra, es muy poca la gente que veo utilizándolas. A veces me siento diferente cuando indico en la tienda que mis compras van en bolso reusable. Algunos grupos sin fines de lucro y organizaciones ambientales en los Estados Unidos han propuesto un impuesto a las bolsas plásticas para desalentar su uso. En San Francisco, California, hay una ordenanza municipal desde el 2007 que prohíbe a las farmacias y supermercados utilizar estas bolsas. En Irlanda, y desde el 2002, los ciudadanos pagan un impuesto por utilizar las bolsas de plástico. Estos han logrado reducir su uso por un 90% y ha ayudado a sustentar económicamente programas de reciclaje. Mientras más ciudades y países prohíben su uso, más informados necesitan estar los consumidores sobre sus opciones que van más allá del papel y el plástico. Su mejor opción es traer la suya.

About the author: Dominic Bridgers was a summer intern in the Office of Public Affairs.

I never really thought about what bags I use when I go to the grocery store. I usually tend to get plastic, because I feel I can reuse a plastic bag over and over again for taking out the trash, bringing in lunch, picking up the dog’s mess, etc.

I collected data from the July 21st Question of the Week, “What do you use: Paper, Plastic, or Reusable bags?” Among people who use paper or plastic, the answer came down to be pretty even. However, I was very surprised to see that almost all of the commenters said that they use reusable bags. The reason why most people use reusable bags is because they feel as if those bags are sturdier and they hold more. I must say that when that I am in the grocery store, I have not once seen a person with a reusable bag!

Thank you for taking your time in responding to “What do you use: Paper, Plastic, or Reusable bags?”

Each week we ask a question related to the environment. Please let us know your thoughts as comments. Feel free to respond to earlier comments or post new ideas. Previous questions.

Paper or plastic? We take shopping bags for granted, especially at the grocery store, and it’s easy to fill up several bags per trip. Both paper and plastic bags use resources, multiplied by the billions of bags used annually worldwide. You can reuse and recycle both paper and plastic types, which delays their being thrown away, or you can reduce waste with permanent bags.

What do you use: paper, plastic, or reusable bags?

.

En español: Cada semana hacemos una pregunta relacionada al medio ambiente. Por favor comparta con nosotros sus pensamientos y comentarios. Siéntase en libertad de responder a comentarios anteriores o plantear nuevas ideas. Preguntas previas.

¿Papel o plástico? Damos por sentado las bolsas al momento de comprar, especialmente en el supermercado, y es fácil llenar varias bolsas en cada compra. Tanto las bolsas de papel como las de plástico utilizan recursos, multiplicados por miles de millones de bolsas usadas anualmente a nivel mundial. Usted puede reutilizar o reciclar tanto las de papel como las de plástico, lo cual puede aplazar el tener que disponer de ellas. O también puede reducir los desechos con bolsas permanentes.

¿Cuáles utiliza: bolsas de papel, plástico o reutilizables?

About the author: Tami Fordham joined EPA’s Seattle office in June 2001 and moved to Anchorage, Alaska to join the Alaska Operations Office in September 2003. Tami serves as the Alaska Resource Extraction Tribal Policy Advisor and is the Tribal Coordinator for Tribes in Western Alaska.

The last time I was visiting with my family in Washington I learned that my parents decided to start making canvas shopping bags. They were noticing plastic bags everywhere littering the streets and hanging in the trees, you may have seen this in your local area, and so decided to start making the canvas bags to sell at their local store and to their friends. I have one of their bags and when people ask who made it, I get to proudly share their story of making a difference in the environment.

I have the great honor to work in partnership with Tribal Governments in Western Alaska along the Lower Kuskokwim River. Plastic bags are often seen throughout the tundra and so many of the communities I work with have worked to ban plastic bags in their village. The environmental programs have made canvas bags available to the tribal members in the place of plastic bags. There are many people that are now taking plastic bags and crocheting them into purses and bags that can be re-used. To find out more, check out this website. Just a few weeks ago a woman all the way from Florida called our office to find out about different re-use projects that could be done because she wanted to find projects that made a difference for the environment.

One person can make a difference, just imagine if we all made one change in how we live our lives the ripple effect it would have in our world.