Environmentally Friendly

How many times have you been to the supermarket and left with an armful of plastic carrier bags? Have you ever considered where these end up?

Every year millions of plastic carrier bags end up in landfill sites; this causes major environmental issues as it takes over 1000 years for the bags to degrade. Imagine how many bags of rubbish are dumped by a family every day.

One option is the widespread use of bio-degradable bags; these are made up of polymers that degrade naturally when exposed to direct sunlight or air. The use of bio-degradable bags is not a long term solution at this moment in time as the separation process is near on impossible, once bags have been transported to the Landfill sites. The sole production of bio-degradable bags is also costly option.

The alternative is to utilise ‘Bag for Life’, these are environmentally friendly and can be used for a multiple of purposes. Bags for life are becoming more popular with the consumer; they are now widely available in major retail stores. Bags For Life are made from natural materials this reduces the cost of production. As the bags are produced naturally they also decay with ease, this has a favourable impact on the environment especially when balanced against plastic carrier bags. Figures show a staggering 97% of plastic bags are only used once before being thrown away.

Apart from environmental issues plastic bags are a danger to animals, they mistake the bags for food, resulting in choking or their intestines becoming blocked ultimately it can lead to death. This suffering would be reduced if Bags for Life became a more popular option with the consumer.

In conclusion, we can either; stop the production of plastic bags totally and move over to bio-degradable products or with government support the consumer could be driven towards the use of Bags for Life. The future of our planet depends on the individuals taking the time and effort to make a difference; this can be done simply by a shift in global policy towards plastic products or moving towards more suitable products.

Why is it that only the average person is being asked to give up their lifestyles in favour of green living, eco-friendly and environmentally friendly lifestyles? When we listen to and hear stories of global warming, some of us start thinking about the future and the cars that we will not be able to run, or the masses of solar panels that will be powering our homes, while the elites in this world are still flying from country to country in their private jets, or being chauffeur driven around in 30 foot gas guzzling limousines.

One of the things that we can all do to reduce our individual carbon footprint and an idea that has been around for many years now for various reasons, is the installation of water filters and using glass or stainless steel, reusable drinking bottles. There are many debates that revolve around the use of and exploitation of large amounts of energy to produce products that are not only dangerous; they are having a very negative impact on our environment. It is possible to adjust certain aspects of our lifestyle in favour of smarter and cheaper methods to achieve the same results. We just have to know where to go to get this information.

When we install a home water filter and use a reusable water bottle (glass or stainless steel) we are each reducing the amount of pollution caused from the plastic waste, during the processing, transportation, and disposal of plastic bottles. It was recently estimated that the manufacturing process involved in producing plastic, releases more than 800,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases into our atmosphere, contributing a massive amount to global climate change. Reducing our dependence on bottled water, will almost certainly cut down on the amount of greenhouse gas being put into the atmosphere.

The manufacture of bottled water uses a lot of natural resources and energy. If we believe the official figures out of New York, we can believe that the amount of oil used to produce plastic water bottles, is the equivalent of 66 million gallons of gasoline, in that state alone! When you combine this with global research data conducted over a number of years, bottled water is no safer to drink that standard tap water, in most countries. Is the use and consumption of bottled a “fashion statement”. Are we funding the demise of the planet through the bottled water industry, simply because a few irresponsible people think it’s cool to drink it?

You be the judge, and decide for yourself whether or not you support the trend. Fashionable, destructive and harmful bottled water, or simple reusable bottles and water filters for a healthier planet.

It is always great news to hear that corporations large and small, are doing whatever they can to make a difference to our planet and the environment we all live in. Actually it is even better when those companies are small companies, highlighting the fact that it does not take a lot of money, nor resources to do what we can to help the situation.

If we look around society today we can clearly see the numerous ways in which people abuse our environment. Every day we see more and more people conducting business and their personal lives in such a way that is detrimental to our environment, and this is even more reason for the other, more responsible and caring people, do what they can to combat that negative impact.

One of the latest concerns to hit the world stage is the use of “plastic shopping bags” as opposed to environmentally friendly, reusable bags. The effect these plastic shopping bags has on our environment is tremendous, and we need to be doing everything we can to replace this habit with something less harmful.

As reported prviously, the use of natural fiber in the production process of reusable shopping bags is a great benefit to our environment. We now see supermarkets and grocery stores, removing plastic bags altogether from their stores in favour of fabric bags that can be used over and over again by shoppers. There are also stores that have not gone to this extent yet, but instead are imposing tarrifs on the use of the plastic shopping bags. These can range from 5 cents to 20 cents per bag, and the idea is to discourage shoppers from using them.

It is about time we all realised the importance of protecting our waterways, and our parks, landfill, etc. Every day there is clear evidence of these plastic shopping bags getting into drains, the ocean, creeks and waterways. We see them floating around the street in the breeze, and we see many animals injured or killed as a result of careless disposal of the bags.

To shop with the confidence of knowing that the bag you use, is environmentally friendly, is a truly great step in the right direction. When you know that the store or company you bought your bag/s from is also doing whatever it can to protect the environment, by supporting environmental projects, this is even better. If we all do what we can, this planet we all live on, will return in some way to the glory it once presented, and we will all be able to hold our heads high, in that – we did what we could to make this a better place for our children, and their children, etc.

Today it could be that you change your pattern, to throw away all of the plastic shopping bags you have, and vow never to use them again. Today may be the day you decide that you will use environmentally friendly reusable shopping bags, to help improve our planet. If today is your day, I congratulate you on that decision.