Growers and Grocers

Thanks to a British filmmaker, the English town of Modbury has become the first town in Europe to ban plastic bags. After witnessing the ravaging effects that plastic bags are having on our sea life, Rebecca Hosking took to filming the atrocity that few people are aware of.

Hosking arranged a local screening of her documentary, and invited the town’s 43 shopkeepers, and all but seven showed up. It seems her work was quite persuasive. After viewing the film, every single shopkeeper voted for a voluntary ban on plastic bags.

A detailed article on this plastic bag revolt offers several surprising stats. The one that caught my eye the most was overall usage. 500 billion plastic bags are consumed every year, with each requiring 500 years to decay in a landfill. Since the information is from the U.K, the stats show that the average British consumer uses 167 bags per year. Unlike most European countries, U.S. grocers do not charge consumers for bags. Rather they load us up with just one or two items per plastic bag. I can only imagine (but would rather not) the average consumption of plastic bags per person within the U.S.

A few years ago, I fell in love with the reusable bag, and cannot promote them enough, for the environment, and quite frankly, for ease. Since picking up my first reusable bag for just $2.00 CDN in Vancouver, my tote has seen hundreds of miles. It easily fits three plastic bags worth of groceries, but slings over my five-foot tall frame to be carried without strain. It also earned me two free reusable bags from Trader Joe’s when their bring a bag, get a bag promotion was going on. I have yet to purchase more groceries than could fit in these three jumbo bags. On days when I accidentally forget one of my bags, the guilt piles on as I watch and try to stop baggers from placing a single item in one bag.

Thanks to a growing awareness, most grocers have their own reusable bags for sale. Save some plastic waste and pick up an environmentally-friendly bag or two on your next visit to the store! If they don’t suit your style, pick up a more stylish reusable tote to fill with the week’s groceries. The World Feed Bag is an awesome and charitable option, or check out Cate’s recommendation for a good selection of image-conscious bags.

Originally written for Go Dairy Free.