Reuse, Reduce, Recycle - Part 1

So to celebrate Earth Day this week, I thought I would post some of my favorite eco-friendly things....

First up, reusable bags!!! So easy to use and not too expensive and most are very cute. Plus most grocery stores give you a 5 cent credit for each bag you use, each time you use them. Eventually, that could pay for the bags. 

But most important is what you save in the environment by not using or reducing your use of the paper and/or plastic bags.  Some facts about those lovely paper and plastic bags that may shock you (it did me!):

     - Almost 400 billion plastic bags are used in the US every year. That is more than 1,200 per resident, per year. WOW!!!

     - An estimated 12 million barrels of oil is required to make all those bags each year.

     - Even after the plastic bags degrade, toxic particles are released into the soil and may enter the food chain.

     - It is estimated that about 45,000 pieces of plastic litter float in every square mile of ocean. This was surprising and sad.

     - Thousands of marine animals and more than 1 million birds die each year as a result of plastic pollution.

     - More than 10 billion paper bags are used in the US each year.

     - About 14 million trees are cut down every year to produce those bags.

     - Paper production requires hundreds of thousands of gallons of water and toxic chemicals like sulphurous acid. This all leads to acid rain and water pollution.

Hopefully that spurs you to go and get some reusable bags. Scary what those plastic and paper bags do to the environment and how it affects everything around us.

Now I have only tried/used one bag (Envirosax) but I love mine. So much so, that I have bought them as gifts for several friends - always good to pass on the "be good to the Earth" vibe.

Envirosax is a company that is committed to being eco-friendly.  The founders and their 3 kids live off the grid in Australia, which is totally impressive. Wish I had the guts to try to live off the grid but I am not sure I could do that.

Anyway, the bags are lightweight, waterproof and each bags holds the equivalent of two plastic bags. From my experience the bags hold a ton of food and I can hold them on my shoulder unlike typical grocery bags. The bags come is a ton of colors and you can buy them individually or as a group of 5 (which come in their own little pouch to keep them organized). Love it.

So save the Earth a little and replace your plastic or paper bags with reusable bags (even those shopping bags could be replaced). Just think of how decluttered your house would be without all those bags floating around.