No more plastic bags on Hawaii. What wonderful news!
Plastic bags have a way of escaping from the consumer and ending up in trees, sewer drains, and in Hawaii, in the ocean. Perhaps you’ve heard of the Pacific Gyre: A floating garbage patch filled with plastic that’s the size of TEXAS! (and that’s just one of them). Hawaiian waste (and from other places) ends up floating there. Unfortunate sea creatures and birds mistake these floating plastic bags for food and eat them. Plastic bags are not digestible, and end up killing the creatures.
These killer plastic bags are called ghost bags. Because after the animal’s carcass has biodegraded, the plastic bag still lives to kill again. All this because of human laziness.
What excuse can you make to take a plastic bag from store? If you forgot, or made a stop that you didn’t expect, you could just as easily put your items directly into your car, where you have your bags, or a box to bring the stuff into your home/office.
Alright, maybe if you have some leaky chicken, a plastic bag is an acceptable choice. But you COULD rinse it out, and reuse it for the same purpose again.
I went into a store yesterday, and happened to park next to a Prius. (yes I also have one). I peered into the window, and what did I see: A bag seat filled with groceries in plastic bags. That person was trying to save oil (which is used to make plastics) and then using plastic bags. It was nonsensical.
Make a commitment to bring your own bags! And remember, those polypropelene bags are made from plastic. Even though they may last a little longer, they are still going into a landfill where they will only photo degrade, leaving plastic residue that will eventually be eaten by the smallest creatures in the food chain. Eventually, it will get into your system, because we are an interconnected web of life.
BRING your OWN Bag!
