B.Y.O.B. has taken on a new meaning these days

Carrying around plastic grocery bags might eventually be compared to wearing a scarlet letter on your chest. Sure, this may be an extreme analogy but if you've ever forgotten your reusable bags while in a crowded line at Trader Joe's, you might know that accusatory look I'm referring to. Although progressive stores like Whole Foods and TJ's aren't really big on distributing plastic bags (TJ's does offer a plastic bag that is actually compostable), the rest of the nation's grocery stores are, which is why it's your job to bring your own bag.  A good percent of the population has ditched the plastic and upgraded to canvas and cotton carriers but what will it take for everyone else to realize how wasteful plastic bags truly are? Last year, San Francisco was the first U.S. city to actually ban the use of common plastic bags, and several other cities in Texas, Oregon, Arizona, and Connecticut aren't too far behind either. International cities in Ireland, Canada, and China have actually enforced fees and fines if you're caught red-handed with plastic bags. Extreme? Yes, but according to Reusable Bags.com, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed each year worldwide and billions are ending up in our landfills and oceans. The expense isn't really forgiving either, The Wall Street Journal estimates that 100 billion plastic shopping bags cost retailers $4 billion annually, not to mention waste fuel and energy required to produce all these billions of bags.

One Bag at a Time is an excellent source for getting the specs on exactly how much energy and resources are being used for each paper, plastic, compostable, biodegradable, and reusable bag that is made. Many grocery chains have adopted the PP bags, which are made of 100% polypropylene, a recyclable, non-toxic, and allergy-free fabric. They're usually available for $1-$2. According to One Bag at a Time, just one PP bag can replace up to 4 plastic bags each time it is used, replacing 416 plastic bags if used just once a week. Another reusable bag option comes from Change for Green, with their fun "Paper or Plastic? Neither" slogan. Of course now you can find different variations of reusable bags almost anywhere, cute canvas totes with screen prints on them, or even old school cotton string bags, whatever you fancy, make sure to keep a few in the car and at home. Before you know it, the question "paper or plastic?" may simply become a thing of the past.

Plastic Bag Ban

Reusable Bags.com

One Bag at a Time

Photos courtesy of: ecobags.com, reusablebags.com