Going Greener: Plastic Bags

It's been a while since the last Going Greener post, so it's about time. These days we are hearing a lot about the environment and climate change. It gets old at times, but hopefully it causes us to make changes in how we think about things, and more importantly how we act.

Up today: plastic bags. Just in case you hadn't heard, they're bad for the environment. And in the U.S. alone, in one year we use an average of 380 BILLION plastic bags, sacks, and wraps.
First up is the production, they use toxic chemicals and non-renewable resources to produce. Secondly, only 1-3% get recycled. Those that end up in the landfill, even those reused for another purpose, can take hundreds of years to decompose. So, the plastic bag I just used for Tobin and Joshua's diapers will still be lingering around when their great-great grandchildren are trying to find clean land and water for their community.

I started using canvas shopping bags for the grocery store about 9 months ago. I LOVE THEM. It is a little challenging to remember to take them with me, but I've been successful in this lately. They are much easier to carry and handle than plastic bags; They don't cut off the circulation in your fingers if they're heavy. Since mine have long straps, I can carry them on my shoulders too, so it's less trips into the house with groceries. Usually a week's worth of groceries fits into about four bags.

Our bags were purchased at our local grocery store. Lots of retailers are selling these now. Without even looking I've spotted them at Target, Home Depot, and Ikea. You can also find a plenitude to choose from online; you can see a bunch of options for reusable shopping bags here.

Lucky for us, this is a trendy thing to do these days, so hope on the trendy bandwagon and take your own bags to the store! For those times you forget, ask for paper or at a minimal recycle the plastic bags you end up with.
In honor of Earth Day, which is coming up April 22nd, we are having the First Annual Zeb Daily Grind Going Greener Award. Yes, hold on to your hats, it's exciting. It's been fun to hear changes people have made after reading the blog, so we are going to celebrate those changes. So, tell me about a change you have made in the past year to Go Greener. The winner will be announced on April 22nd and will win a beautiful HEB reusable shopping bag (pictured with Joshua) filled with a few products to help you go greener.


Official Rules:
1) To enter, send an email to zebfamily@yahoo.com (Please note that this is a junk email account that we don't use very often.)
2) Deadline for entry is next Sunday, April 20th.
3) Your change or event must have occurred within the last year. It doesn't have to be something specific that we've talked about on the blog.
4) Sorry, immediate family members of the Zeb Daily Grind do not qualify ( Joshua, Toby and Kurt-you are out of luck)
5) In the event that no one actually enters, the Zeb Daily Grind reserves the right to keep the grand prize. Hopefully that won't happen...