Mondays Matter: Week 41

Taken from the book Every Monday Matters: 52 Ways To Make A Difference by Matthew Emerzian and Kelly Bozza

CHOOSE CANVAS BAGS

-Almost 7 billion paper bags and 440 billion plastic bags are used every year.

-Only 5.2 % of plastic bags and 21% of paper bags are recycled.

-The average length of time a high-density plastic bag will exist on earth is 1,000 years!

-The average family accumulates 60 plastic bags every 4 trips to the grocery store.

-San Francisco, the first city in the USA to ban the use of plastic grocery bags, eliminates the use of 100 million plastic bags/year.

ACTION STEPS

1. Buy several canvas shopping bags or use duffle bags that you already own. Most trips to the store require more than one bag.

2. Purchase canvas bags made from recycled materials.

3. Keep your canvas bags in the trunk of your car – trips to the store are often spontaneous.

4. When purchasing only one or two items and you don’t have a canvas bag, just carry the items out of the store without a bag.

5. If you forget your canvas bag, at least avoid double-bagging.

I LOVE using my canvas shopping bags. I think I have 8 of them that I keep in my van at all times. I also use them for things other than shopping. They are great for carrying items to a potluck, for taking items you need to a meeting, or for packing items for a trip. The bags are very sturdy and hold more items than a regular plastic bag, which means less trips back and forth from the car to the house when unloading groceries. The canvas bags are more sturdy when holding the groceries and are less likely to tip over in the car while driving. Also, the grocery store I purchased some of the bags from, replaces them for free if they start to rip. So, the next time you are in the checkout line and the clerk asks, “Paper or Plastic”, proudly answer, “Canvas”!