I just read
![[info]](https://i0.wp.com/stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
post about native plants. Beautiful story and accompanying photos in honor of today’s Blog Action Day. This year’s topic is the environment and I decided to write about ways to reduce the number of plastic bags in our lives.
There are some sobering statistics at this site, including one from the EPA: over 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps are consumed in the U.S. each year.
Yikes.
One easy way to reduce the plastic in your life is to keep some of these in your car so that when you’re asked “Plastic or paper?” you can say “Neither”:
And instead of plastic sandwich bags, you can pack lunches with these:
Plastic debris is especially hard on marine wildlife as animals often mistake the bags for food. We’re sharing the planet with lots of other beings and our actions can have a profound effect so I’m sure this sea turtle appreciates all efforts to keep his home clean: 
I look forward to reading other takes on the environment in honor of Blog Action Day.
Tracy Abell 
Great examples.
There are no paper bags here, but we have to buy bags at the stores. Often people don’t use plastic bags, not at 30 cents for each one. Many people use cloth bags.
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I wish they’d charge for bags here. Or better yet, outlaw plastic bags the way San Francisco did.
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Great examples.
There are no paper bags here, but we have to buy bags at the stores. Often people don’t use plastic bags, not at 30 cents for each one. Many people use cloth bags.
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I need those wax paper bags. Really, really need them.
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I get mine at a local health food store but you can buy them online, too. I feel better putting my boys’ food in those rather than toxin-leaching plastic bags.
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awesome–i bought the cloth grocery bags from trader joe’s and also from whole foods but i often forget them at home–also, you can put your kids school lunches in tupperware
thanks for the reminder!
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Yep, tupperware is a good one, too. I do that for fruits and stuff. Maybe try keeping the bags in your car so you’ll see them and remember to use them?
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the prob is, after i unload them upstairs i forget to carry them back down to the car-i’ll be better from now on. =)
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Yep, we do that sometimes, too. But once you establish a routine, then it becomes habit and you don’t even have to think about it. Much, anyway. 🙂
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awesome–i bought the cloth grocery bags from trader joe’s and also from whole foods but i often forget them at home–also, you can put your kids school lunches in tupperware
thanks for the reminder!
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So Tracy do you have a bunch of the canvas bags or do you go to the store frequently? And cool about the waxed paper bags–I’ve never seen those, but I’ll keep an eye out for them now.
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Yes and yes.
We have bags from every place we’ve lived, I think. My fave is the Green Frog Market bag because it was one cool thing about living in Bakersfield (a little market down the street from my house). I also like the Carrs bag from Alaska because it has all those animals on it. Every now and again our health food store has a bag giveaway or really cheap sale and we pick up one or two then.
I’ve only seen the waxed paper bags in my health food store but they’re available online, too.
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Yes and yes.
We have bags from every place we’ve lived, I think. My fave is the Green Frog Market bag because it was one cool thing about living in Bakersfield (a little market down the street from my house). I also like the Carrs bag from Alaska because it has all those animals on it. Every now and again our health food store has a bag giveaway or really cheap sale and we pick up one or two then.
I’ve only seen the waxed paper bags in my health food store but they’re available online, too.
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Great post! I love that we go to all these writer conferences and often come away with canvas bags that we can use for daily stuff like this.
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Exactly! We already have so much of what we need (and oftentimes, more than we need). Writers unite for the planet!
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Yes, oftentimes MORE than we need. I try to slow myself down and ask, is this a want or a need? I never learned delayed gratification but I am trying to now. (Well except for publishing which is ALL about delayed gratification.)
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“Well except for publishing which is ALL about delayed gratification.”
HA! The quote of the day!
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I hadn’t thought about wax paper bags. I will have a look for them around here. Thanks for the suggestion.
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I love those little things.
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Good point. I should cut down on the baggies.
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Baggies are bad news. I also don’t like to think about toxins leaching into our food.
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Yay for wax paper and canvas bags! We’ve been using the regular waxed paper with rubber bands tied around it–but the wax bags are definitely much more convenient! Love your post, Tracy, and if I had more time today, I’d post something too. Maybe I’ll get a chance to at least put in a link for the Zap car that we’re eyeing!
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Yes, these little bags are so easy and convenient.
Ooh, please do a post on the Zap car. I wanna learn about that!
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Ack, it got too late to post, but check out these cool little electric cars! http://www.zapworld.com/node/171
Just plug them into your garage and voila–they’re ready for driving all over town.
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Those are amazing. Do you think you’l buy one? Maybe the zebra sedan, hmm?
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Yes, these little bags are so easy and convenient.
Ooh, please do a post on the Zap car. I wanna learn about that!
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“Well except for publishing which is ALL about delayed gratification.”
HA! The quote of the day!
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Ack, it got too late to post, but check out these cool little electric cars! http://www.zapworld.com/node/171
Just plug them into your garage and voila–they’re ready for driving all over town.
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