Plastic Bags

Why Should We Care?

As of August 2010, between 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic bags were being used each year worldwide.
60 to 100 million barrels of oil are required to manufacture a year's worth of plastic bags worldwide
At the very least, it takes approximately 500 years for a plastic bag to biodegrade.

Plastic bags are detrimental to our natural ecosystems. When plastic bags are discarded and placed in landfills, they tend to work their way to the top of the landfill and subsequently blow away. The wind takes them to our mountains, forests, and other landscapes where they are not only an eyesore, but are harmful to the wildlife that inhabit these places. Deer and other animals mistake the bags for food and ingest them, which is typically fatal.

What Are The Alternatives?
There are simple alternatives to single-use plastic bags; one being the use of paper bags. Paper bags decompose much quicker than plastic bags; however, there are many other downsides to paper alternatives:

14 million trees are cut down for the manufacturing of the 10 billion paper bags used each year.
Thousands of gallons of fresh water and bleach are used to clean the pulp in the process of the production of paper bags.
Paper produces 70% more air pollution and 50 times more water pollutants than plastic bag production.
It takes over four times as much energy to manufacture a paper bag as it does to manufacture a plastic bag.

Companies such as Biobag and Trellis Earth have come up with fully biodegradable and compostable plastic bag solutions. However, these also have flaws in that they need direct sunshine, the correct temperature and sometimes moisture to facilitate the decomposition process.
The best alternative to plastic bags is to simply use reusable cloth bags.

What Others Are Doing
Many cities are taking action to prevent pollution from plastic bags. Some are adding a fee or tax to plastic bags wherein anytime a person requests a plastic bag at the grocery store, they would be charged an extra fee for the bag use. Other cities are taking it a step further by imposing a ban on single use plastic bags in stores located within their boundaries. EarthWell is proud to be part of the solution having banned plastic bags at our events since 2010.

What You Can Do To Make A Difference
There are many ways in which you can help to reduce plastic bag pollution. One simple solution is to use reusable cotton bags instead of plastic bags. Talk to your local government and store owners and inform them about the harms of plastic bags. To show your support in the fight against plastic bags, take the pledge at plasticpollutioncoalition.org.

References:

http://plasticpollutioncoalition.org/projects/plastic-free-campuses/
http://www.livestrong.com/article/216666-why-are-plastic-bags-so-bad-for-the-environment/