Most people don’t even think, when they throw away a plastic
bag, where it will go, or what will happen to it. But plastic bags can make a
huge impact all over the world.
Did you know that anywhere from .5% to 3% of all plastic bags
wind up recycled? Only 1 in every 200 plastic bags are actually reused and do
not end up in landfills. The U. S. throws away 17 billion plastic bags a year!
Every square mile of ocean has about 46,000 pieces of plastic floating in it.
We need to all work together to help stop this problem.
I certainly don’t want to go on like this, I hope you don’t
either because in landfills plastic bags can release toxins that can threaten
our air and earth. A plastic bag can take anywhere from 15-1,000 years to
degrade or breakdown. Thanks to the fatherly weight of a plastic bag, they are
most likely to fly away from a landfill and cause litter on the side of the road,
in trees, in oceans and many more places to. Plastic bags make up over 10% of
washed up garbage polluting the U.S. coastline. It takes up 13% more energy to
make 1 plastic bag than it does for 20 yogurt cups! Reusing plastic bags is
great for the environment, but couldn’t we do a few more simple things to help?
Getting overwhelmed? Feeling ashamed? Well the answer is yes
we can do more simple things to help, here are some ideas. Bring plastic bags
back to the grocery store. Use plastic bags for more than 1 thing. When you are
at the grocery store and only buying a few things don’t take a bag. You could
try to reuse plastic bags so that it doesn’t affect our air and earth in the
future. Use plastic bags for good things, only use a plastic bag if you really
do need a plastic bag. Please give these a try they can work well, breaking
these habits now can make a better cleaner place on earth.
Since I want people to get involved and help, I have decided
to do some simple things to get other people aware of this problem. I have
planned to tell all of my friends and family about this problem. I’ve planned
to spread the word at school and at sports I play, to team members and coaches
about this can actually cause. I’ve planned to set up posters around the
school. Lastly I have planned to have people notice my work, to have them
spread the word themselves. Do you think you could give some of these a try? If
you could it would mean so much to us and it would help the earth greatly.
Now I want to know, what will you do? Will you make this
personal?! Let people know, let them help spread the word themselves?! To help
use reusable bags! If you have one or more at home keep them and reuse them, or
if you don’t, use them take them back to the store! I want a better, healthier
and cleaner planet, don’t you?! Now can we all work together to stop this? Can
you spread the word yourself? Let other people know about this? I know you can,
so give it a try!
