Have you ever been passed along one of those slide shows to save the world?  The kind that prefaces its message by preaching its importance and the imperative nature of its distribution?

It was on plastic bags. It made some really good points.

Data released by the U.S. EPA states that somewhere between 500 billion and a trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year?  What does this mean?  Well, for one, it means the EPA is comfortable with a huge confidence interval, which ironically means they have none.   And not to get off on a tangent, but if 500 billion plastic bags is a big deal, 500 billion more is, too.

Some statistics to consider:

• Less than 1% of plastic bags are recycled. It costs more to recycle a bag than to produce a new one.   (”Cost” means money.)
• It costs $4,000 to recycle a ton of plastic bags, which can be sold on the commodities market for $32.  (It’s a miracle we recycle 1%, given this!)
• A study in 1975 showed ocean-going vessels dump 8 million pounds of plastic annually.   (The reasons the landfills were not overflowing).

• Plastic bags account for 10% of debris washed ashore the U.S. Coastline.   Over time plastic bags break down into smaller, more toxic petro-polymers.
• The average human uses 22,176 bags in a lifetime.   If 1 out of 5 people used cloth bags we’d save over a trillion bags.
• Bangladesh banned plastic bags. China banned free plastic bags.
• They’re currently banned in San Francisco.

Reducing plastic bags reduces our dependence on oil. (Could it bring gas prices down?)

Do something drastic! Say no to plastic!