Chances are, you already own a few reusable grocery bags. But, if you’re like many Americans, you forget them from time to time when you go to the grocery store. Here is a look at why EnviroCitizen.org believes that it’s so important for you to remember those reusable grocery bags every time you need to buy something.
Throughout the world, somewhere between 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed and discarded every year, which translates to more than 1 million bags each minute! These plastic bags aren’t biodegradable. Instead of degrading, plastic bags go through a process called photodegradation. When plastic bags photodegrade, they break into smaller and smaller pieces, which contaminate soil and water. These tiny pieces also end up in the food chain when animals consume them.
When these plastic bags end up in the water, animals may mistake them for food. Once a plastic bag or piece of a plastic bag enters an animals’ digestive tract, it blocks the gastrointestinal system, causing the animal to starve to death. Hundreds of thousands of whales, dolphins, sea turtles and other beloved animals die every year due to plastic bags. Plastic bags litter the landscape in Antarctica, where less than .5 million people visit annually.