Is it worth getting upset about plastic bags?

ecoconcierge — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 21:58:24 +0000

Dear Eco-Concierge,
I have been using fabric bags for my shopping for a couple of years now but always get terribly depressed when I see how no-one else seems to care about reusable bags. When I go to the supermarket it seems like hundreds of plastic bags are being handed out every minute? The other day a friend of mine told me that in the grand scheme of things turning down plastic bags has almost no environmental benefit; it is a useless gesture! Is he right? Tell me it ain’t so.
Despondent, London, UK

Dear Despondent,
every time you use your renewable bags you are sending out a message to everyone around you. You are giving a loud, clear message to the check-out staff when you just say no and you are showing people around you that it is possible to remember to bring your reusable bags to the supermarket or other shop. Don’t despair, every small step is worth the effort. Not to mention the added side-effect of not having a mound of useless plastic bags in the kitchen. And whatever the carbon footprint impact of refusing a plastic bag, there is the other more save-the-whales issue of sea creatures dying after swallowing them. I read that is South Africa plastic bags were called the ‘national flower’ because there are so many blowing around the place (measures have not been taken to reduce the number of bags in circulation). The bottom line is that something is better than nothing. Reusable bags rock.
Your Eco-Concierge

ecotwirl.com » Eco-Concierge

Is it worth getting upset about plastic bags?