Strange Fruit: A Reason to Stop using Plastic Bags #4, #5 and #6

These trees should be called "Bag Ladies" because that are collecting all of our plastic bags.


Listed below is information from an organization called "Earth Resource Foundation", http://www.earthresource.org/; they list why plastic bags are a problem plus a list of solutions:

The problem
Plastic bags are:

• Made from petroleum, a nonrenewable resource.
• A serious litter problem since they are lightweight and hard to contain (blow around).
• Non-biodegradable, breaking into smaller particles BUT never fully disappearing.
• Mistaken for food by marine animals (particularly sea turtles).
• One of the most numerous items of litter along with cigarette butts and Styrofoam.
• A major part of waste in our landfills.

"I'm the problem, I'm the solution"

The solution

• Bring your own cloth [or burlap (jute)] bag.
• Ask for paper bag (holds 5 to 6 times more than a plastic bag).
• Ask your merchant to promote cloth bags (charge for plastic or provide incentives for cloth).
• Encourage development of bags made from natural products such as cornstarch and soy.
• Write your elected officials regarding the hazards of plastic bags.
• Participate in a community/beach cleanup.

It's a global thing!

Other countries are ahead of the United States in finding ways to reduce the impact of plastic bags on the environment!


Bangladesh: Polythene plastic bags have been banned completely - the government is promoting bags made of jute, a natural fiber.


Ireland: Individual consumers are required to pay a 15c tax per plastic bag - this has resulted in an estimated 90% reduction in plastic bag use in the first year.


The European Union: Member countries require manufacturers/producers of plastic bags and other plastic waste to take them back and recycle them.


Taiwan and South Africa:Both countries prohibit the thinner plastic bags - this encourages people to bring their own bags since retailers can't afford to provide the more expensive, thicker plastic bags for free.


Resources:
http://www.earthresource.org/campaigns/capp/capp-sea-turtles.html

Look at what we are doing to ourselves: Plastic Waste

Do we love plastic more than we love ourselves?

Resource:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deborah-bassett/breaking-the-plastic-addi_b_781569.html

Strange Fruit: A Reason to Stop using Plastic Bags #2

I saw this plastic bag on I-75/85 headed toward downtown Atlanta.  Is this your plastic bag?

Strange Fruit: A Reason to Stop using Plastic Bags #1

Last summer, NPR interviewed Kathy Fredrick, a blogger who chronicled the life of a plastic bag that was stuck in a tree outside her office building.  She was so fascinated about the stuck plastic bag that she began throwing birthday parties in its honor.  She also "interviewed" this plastic bag she named "Windy".  Kathy's interview with NPR was fun and memorable, but there was an important message behind "Windy".

Recently, I started noticing that there are hundreds of “Windys" stuck in trees along my commute.  Surely, we have all seen these strange fruit hanging from trees.  We are the ones that use and discard the bags without any thought as to how it is affecting our environment.  So, what are we doing about it?

Companies are now selling reusable bags to help us curtail our use of plastic bags.  That is at least a start.  Now, we just have to remember to use the bags and leave the plastic bags alone!

In the meantime, I have decided to keep track of all the plastic bags I see and post it to this blog.  If you see a "Windy" hanging from a tree, please tell us where it is located and what you think we can do to remove the bags from the trees and off the ground.

Resource:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/06/14/127838433/-windy-a-plastic-bag-caught-in-a-tree-is-kathy-frederick-s-obsession