Going Green: Billions of bags pollute oceans

They can be found in even the most remote reaches of the ocean. They outnumber phytoplankton 6 to 1 in the upper parts of the water column and kill hundreds of thousands of sea creatures. They even cover a space as large as the state of Texas, swirling in massive clouds in what has been named the Pacific Trash Vortex just south of Hawaii, where the ocean currents converge. They are plastic bags, and many people use them on a day to day basis with out any concept of what detrimental impact that have towards the environment, and especially our oceans.

Each year an estimated 500 billion plastic bags are used, with only a minuscule fraction being recycled. The majority end up in landfills, oceans, or breaking down into small toxic particles that are then absorbed into the food chain. Grocery bags are derived from petroleum products, and therefore contribute to our addiction to oil. A few places have stepped up to stem the plague of plastic bags by banning them from their villages and cities. Such places that include Australia, South Africa and San Francisco have been setting precedents for American cities in their banning of plastic bags and advocating the use of only bioplastics which are designed to break down into benign compounds.

However, this assembly bill has been viciously fought by interest groups such as the Coalition to Support Plastic Bag Recycling which contends that this punishes plastic bag companies and does not promote recycling. The battle over the bags, however, is a far cry from what most experts believe to be the best solution to the problem: promoting awareness and use of reusable canvas shopping bags.

Here in Hattiesburg, there is no place currently available to recycle plastic bags easily. This means that most locals will end up just tossing away these bags to end up in our rivers, lakes, and environment. But even here we can make an effort to stop the plague of plastic bags by choosing recyclable canvas bags when shopping. Some places allow you to bag you own groceries, and Corner Market even offers canvas bags for purchase near the register. Utilizing reusable canvas bags is just one of many small but infinitely helpful ways that we can modify our lifestyles to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly. If all of us make the effort today, we can hope our grandchildren won't be up to their eyebrows in plastic bag trash.