Episode 9 - Plastic Bags
Been to the grocery store lately? Ever wonder what becomes of all those plastic grocery bags after the shoppers are done with them? Holly with Help Our World has some bad…AND GOOD…news for you.
The bad news is that each of these plastic bags can take up to 20-1,000 years to decompose and in the process damage the environment and harm animals. Pretty alarming information, isn’t it? But wait, here is the good news! Most of these plastic grocery bags are recyclable. A group in California called Californians Against Waste (http://www.cawrecycles.org) estimates that 4% of Californias are already recycling. That’s 760 million bags recycled!. You should definitely check out their site at cawrecycles.org (same as above) for more information on news, advice, and facts, all about being green.
This is definitely a widespread movement. Cities across the country have already started banning the usage of plastic bags. Here is a news article from Australia about their effort to decrease plastic bag usage: abc.net.au (http://www.abc.net.au/melbourne/stories/s1576054.htm) Here is what you can do: recycle any bags labled HDPE 2, or even better switch to reusable bags! They are durable, long lasting, and can carry a lot more stuff. Check out ehow.com for their 5 steps to plastic bag recycling. You can also read more about more ways to help the environment at nationalgeographic.com (http://green.nationalgeographic.com/environment/).
So next time you are at the grocery store, do your part to Help Our World!
