As people all over the country gear up for Earth Day celebrations, it’s a good time to reflect on our impact on the planet. While we may feel an insignificant part of the whole picture, we make it up in volume. For instance, each person turning off lights in rooms not being used times leventy billion people equals a lot of kilowatt hours saved! Same with water, same with plastic bag litter. Think in terms of the multiplicative effect of many people taking the same actions. Some of the things we can do to get started:
Stop buying bottled water. Sure, you recycle your bottles, but overall, we disposed of 70 million plastic water bottles daily. Fewer than 15% are recycled, and the water isn’t usually of any higher quality than tap water. If you really want to be green, drink tap water from metal reusable bottles. If that’s not possible where you are, refill the plastic one and use it as many times as you can before you recycle it.
Visit http://globalfootprint.org and take the quiz to discover how you are impacting the environment. It’s sobering. http://www.earthday.net/Footprint/info.asp When I took the quiz, it really raised my awareness of how much we consume, compared to the average person on this planet. When, at the end of the quiz, I clicked on what I can do, it took me to this link: http://ww2.earthday.net/plasticbags and guess what: we can quit using plastic bags. (My point exactly!)
So how are you going to get started eliminating plastic bags from your life:
Got through all your drawers and closets and pull out all those canvas tote bags you’ve gotten from conferences over the years. Stuff them all into one and put them in your car; hang a few on a hook by the back door for when you walk to errand. (You DO walk to some errands, don’t you?)
Then ANYTIME you are going to a store of any kind (and yes, that certainly includes Wal-Mart), take your bags in with you. It takes about 3 months to make it an unconscious habit, but YOU CAN DO IT!
There isn’t time to put this off. Visiting environmental websites gives us countless ways we can reduce our impact on this planet, but it has to be a conscious choice, and it requires some effort. So far, we don’t have another planet to move to when this one is trashed. With the technologic and financial resources we have, the impact of our actions will take a while to catch up with us, but it is already catching up with the billions of people on this planet our actions impact. Tropical islands now underwater from rising sea levels, pollution in crowded slums, lack of clean drinking water, drought and crop failures. It’s scary, and it’s happening.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Earth Day is Here!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Gearing Up for Earth Day
Earth Day is coming. See the earth we have created and what some countries are doing about it:
In Seattle, using Ireland’s successful plastic bag tax as a model, Mayor Greg Nickels is proposing a 20 cent fee on all disposable bags. This type of fee is the first of its kind in the US. If approved, the charges would go into effect Jan 1, 2009. To launch the new program, the city plans to mail one reusable shopping bag to each household.
According to the Los Angeles Time, as of Oct. 2008, IKEA will no longer offer disposable plastic bags or any disposable bags at checkout. Customers will have the options of bringing their own bag, buying a 59¢ IKEA reusable bag, or going bagless.
Greenpeace has made plastic litter part of their cause: “The very thing that makes plastic items useful to consumers, their durability and stability, also makes them a problem in marine environments. Around 100 million tonnes of plastic are produced each year of which about 10 percent ends up in the sea. About 20 percent of this is from ships and platforms, the rest from land.” To read the story and see the pictures, go to:
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/oceans/pollution/trash-vortex
Reusable Bags has valuable information on the size of the plastic bag problem, as well as some great reusable bags that should wear well for years to come. To check out their most up-to-date news on plastic bag litter, go to: http://reusablebags.typepad.com/
To sign up for their excellent newsletter, go to:
http://visitor.constantcontact.com/email.jsp?m=1011338707104
Africa is starting to react to the huge problem with plastic bag litter in its countries. These bags are produced and then discarded in huge quantities. The bags block drains and sewage systems and can kill livestock who eat them. They spread malaria by holding warm water for mosquitoes to breed in. They choke soil and plants, and leak color additives into food.
According to an article by the Reuters Foundation: "The plastic problem is now on the agenda of almost every African country," says Mebratu, an Ethiopian with an office in a U.N. compound in Nairobi. "The major focus is to promote rational use and disposal of plastic bags." Rwanda and Eritrea have already banned the bags outright, the United Nations says. "Go to the airport in Kigali and if you have a plastic bag, they will confiscate it," Mebratu said. Somaliland, an autonomous and self-declared independent region of Somalia, has taken a similarly draconian measure. To read the whole article, go to: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L20601514.htm
In Seattle, using Ireland’s successful plastic bag tax as a model, Mayor Greg Nickels is proposing a 20 cent fee on all disposable bags. This type of fee is the first of its kind in the US. If approved, the charges would go into effect Jan 1, 2009. To launch the new program, the city plans to mail one reusable shopping bag to each household.
According to the Los Angeles Time, as of Oct. 2008, IKEA will no longer offer disposable plastic bags or any disposable bags at checkout. Customers will have the options of bringing their own bag, buying a 59¢ IKEA reusable bag, or going bagless.
Greenpeace has made plastic litter part of their cause: “The very thing that makes plastic items useful to consumers, their durability and stability, also makes them a problem in marine environments. Around 100 million tonnes of plastic are produced each year of which about 10 percent ends up in the sea. About 20 percent of this is from ships and platforms, the rest from land.” To read the story and see the pictures, go to:
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/oceans/pollution/trash-vortex
Reusable Bags has valuable information on the size of the plastic bag problem, as well as some great reusable bags that should wear well for years to come. To check out their most up-to-date news on plastic bag litter, go to: http://reusablebags.typepad.com/
To sign up for their excellent newsletter, go to:
http://visitor.constantcontact.com/email.jsp?m=1011338707104
Africa is starting to react to the huge problem with plastic bag litter in its countries. These bags are produced and then discarded in huge quantities. The bags block drains and sewage systems and can kill livestock who eat them. They spread malaria by holding warm water for mosquitoes to breed in. They choke soil and plants, and leak color additives into food.
According to an article by the Reuters Foundation: "The plastic problem is now on the agenda of almost every African country," says Mebratu, an Ethiopian with an office in a U.N. compound in Nairobi. "The major focus is to promote rational use and disposal of plastic bags." Rwanda and Eritrea have already banned the bags outright, the United Nations says. "Go to the airport in Kigali and if you have a plastic bag, they will confiscate it," Mebratu said. Somaliland, an autonomous and self-declared independent region of Somalia, has taken a similarly draconian measure. To read the whole article, go to: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L20601514.htm
Friday, April 4, 2008
Recyling Moves Forward
The following article is encouraging, but it doesn't address the real problem. If we keep recycling plastic bags, they keep making them. The better solution is not to use them in the first place. Even so, there is growing awareness:
U.S. Plastic Bags, Film Recycling Up 24% in 2006
April 3, 2008
Plastic bags and film recycling increased significantly across the United States in 2006, reaching a record high and validating a growing national recycling trend. The dramatic increase in recycling is in part driven by greater demand for recycled plastic and increased recycling of plastic grocery bags.
An estimated 812,010,000 pounds of post-consumer film (including plastic bags) was recovered in 2006, according to the 2006 National Post-Consumer Recycled Plastic Bags and Film Report conducted by Moore Recycling Associates, Inc. of Sonoma, Calif. This represents a 24 percent increase from 652,477,000 pounds recovered in 2005.
"More Americans are recycling plastic bags and film than ever before, driven by a growing recognition that plastic is a valuable resource -- too valuable to waste," said Steve Russell, managing director for ACC's Plastics Division.
"Over the past several years, Trex has processed and used a tremendous amount of recycled plastic and that demand has led us to partner with the public and private sector on innovative recycling programs," said Dave Heglas of TREX, a northern Virginia company that uses recycled plastic bags to manufacture green building materials. "We have recycled over 2.5 billion pounds of plastic over the last 10 years into lumber substitutes for outdoor decks."
The value of recycled plastic is leading to new innovations in the bag industry too. Hilex Poly, a leading plastic bag manufacturer, established a program that recycles old bags into new ones called Bag-2-Bag®. Last year Hilex recycled the equivalent of 400 million bags and reduced the use of new material by 8 million pounds.
This increase in recycling is expected to continue or accelerate, in large part due to the greater prevalence of plastic bag recycling; and as more retailers set up bag collection programs. California's 2007 at-store plastic bag recycling mandate and a similar measure in New York City will fuel continued recycling growth. Similar measures are also being considered by other localities across the nation.
Source: Environmental Protection News: http://www.eponline.com/articles/60335
U.S. Plastic Bags, Film Recycling Up 24% in 2006
April 3, 2008
Plastic bags and film recycling increased significantly across the United States in 2006, reaching a record high and validating a growing national recycling trend. The dramatic increase in recycling is in part driven by greater demand for recycled plastic and increased recycling of plastic grocery bags.
An estimated 812,010,000 pounds of post-consumer film (including plastic bags) was recovered in 2006, according to the 2006 National Post-Consumer Recycled Plastic Bags and Film Report conducted by Moore Recycling Associates, Inc. of Sonoma, Calif. This represents a 24 percent increase from 652,477,000 pounds recovered in 2005.
"More Americans are recycling plastic bags and film than ever before, driven by a growing recognition that plastic is a valuable resource -- too valuable to waste," said Steve Russell, managing director for ACC's Plastics Division.
"Over the past several years, Trex has processed and used a tremendous amount of recycled plastic and that demand has led us to partner with the public and private sector on innovative recycling programs," said Dave Heglas of TREX, a northern Virginia company that uses recycled plastic bags to manufacture green building materials. "We have recycled over 2.5 billion pounds of plastic over the last 10 years into lumber substitutes for outdoor decks."
The value of recycled plastic is leading to new innovations in the bag industry too. Hilex Poly, a leading plastic bag manufacturer, established a program that recycles old bags into new ones called Bag-2-Bag®. Last year Hilex recycled the equivalent of 400 million bags and reduced the use of new material by 8 million pounds.
This increase in recycling is expected to continue or accelerate, in large part due to the greater prevalence of plastic bag recycling; and as more retailers set up bag collection programs. California's 2007 at-store plastic bag recycling mandate and a similar measure in New York City will fuel continued recycling growth. Similar measures are also being considered by other localities across the nation.
Source: Environmental Protection News: http://www.eponline.com/articles/60335
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