Dr. Karen Bell

Keep Liberty Beautiful

Last week, Keep Liberty Beautiful gave out free reusable bags to customers entering the Food Lion on Highway 196. Some customers wanted to know why it was important to use these bags every time they shopped. We shared some good reasons that I found online by the Editor in Uncategorized, published on June 9, 2022, in the article “Why Everyone Should Use Reusable Shopping Bags.”

Some reasons to use reusable shopping bags include how it will protect the environment from plastic pollution and save money. The article pointed out that it may seem hard to stop using plastic in our lives. Plastic bags are everywhere, and many of them come from bagging items at a store. If you are still using single-use plastic bags, it is time to consider taking a more environmentally-friendly route. Here are some reasons why you should switch to reusable shopping bags.

Plastic bags may seem not such a big thing, but they have a large environmental footprint. Approximately 8% of the world’s total oil production is used to make plastic, and 12 million barrels of oil are used to manufacture the 30 billion plastic bags consumed in the U.S. each year. Furthermore, plastic bags use fossil fuels as they are shipped around the country or the world. Some plastic bags are used for a short time and a single purpose, like bringing your groceries home. Once home, the plastic bag becomes waste and ends up in local landfills. Communities and governments spend millions of dollars to manage the growing amount of plastic waste.

Worldwide, plastic pollution is a problem. Plastic can take a minimum of 500 years to biodegrade. Millions of tons of plastic waste are filling up our landfills and flooding into our oceans. This plastic waste kills wildlife by trapping, strangling, choking, and poisoning them. It is estimated that 1 million marine birds and 100,000 marine mammals die from plastic ingestion every year.

Over time, plastic breaks down into smaller pieces of plastic, which move through the ecosystem and the food chain, absorbing toxins that are released when they are later eaten. These tiny plastics have now been found in our soil, our drinking water, animals, and even in the human placenta.

Plastic bags that only cost you a nickel may seem cheap, but the expense can add up rapidly. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, the average American family uses 1,500 plastic bags yearly. At a nickel-a-bag, you can end up spending $75 annually. Meanwhile, reusable bags are a one-time purchase that can last for years. They cost only a handful of dollars and can be easily purchased in most retail stores and supermarkets. Some places even throw in a reusable bag for free with a minimum purchase or offer discounts to shoppers who bring their own reusable bags.

Reusable bags are tougher and more durable than plastic. They can carry more weight than regular plastic bags and are less likely to tear even when packed with sharp objects. This means quicker bagging, fewer bags to carry, fewer trips to and from your vehicle, and more effortless loading and unloading. Reusable shopping bags come in a wide variety of different materials and designs. Some bags are made from cotton and canvas to fabric made from recycled water bottles.

While the materials may vary, all reusable shopping bags are lightweight, durable, and washable, allowing for several years of versatile use. Reusable bags can be much more attractive than boring single-use plastic bags.

By using a reusable shopping bag, you can decrease the resources used for plastic bag production and disposal and protect the environment from plastic pollution. At the same time, you can save money, look stylish, and enjoy a better quality of life. With many reasons to switch to reusable shopping bags, Keep Liberty Beautiful hopes to have more reusable shopping bag giveaways around Liberty County.

Just a reminder of our last quarterly Recycle It! Fairs for 2023 are scheduled for next week. These fairs are scheduled for Saturday, November 18, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. in Liberty County: The City Hall in Walthourville and the Liberty County Community Complex in Midway. In addition to the items, we collect for recycling or safe disposal, we will also hold a Shred It! Day event and a Tire Roundup in conjunction with the Recycle It! Fair, at the Midway location.

Think of how much more room you will have if you use reusable bags and do not have to store plastic bags and take your unwanted items to one of the recycling fairs!

For more information, please get in touch with us at (912) 880-4888 or klcb@libertycountyga. com or www.keeplibertybeautiful. org.