While we use and discard plastic bags every day, it is difficult to see just how much damage they are causing. In lakes and oceans and on farms in the countryside, these bags cause the deaths of animal and marine life while polluting the land and seas. Thousands of barrels of oil are used to produce the bags and move them to stores across the country. Considering we could replace them with reusable wholesale shopping bags and save billions of dollars every year, the use of plastic bags must be called into question.
Wasted Money, Wasted Energy
Who is paying for the bags? Consumers think plastic bags are free because they are not charged at the cash register. Are they really free? It takes a great deal of energy to produce, transport and dispose of plastic. Merchants do not pay for these costs without passing on the expense to the consumer. When you ask for a bag in the store, don’t be surprised that you aren’t charged for it – you have already paid your share.
How much money is being spent every year on the production of plastic bags? It is hard to quantify exactly, but experts estimate the number at around $4 billion annually in the United States. That $4 billion only covers the production in one country for a single year. For people unmoved by the terrible effects on the environment, wholesale shopping bags that are reusable should have an appeal based on financial common sense alone.
An Unfathomable Amount of Environmental Damage
It is difficult to fathom how much damage is being done to the environment by wasted plastic bags. Though they come into our hands for a brief moment – to carry home some household items or food – they stay in the ecosystem forever. Plastic bags often end up where all of our trash ends up: in the sea or in landfills. Animals, fish and marine life consuming these bags by mistake quickly meet their deaths. Meanwhile, the sea tries to process the toxic particles and cannot, causing more fish to meet their demise.
By turning to wholesale shopping bags that are reusable, we can help reverse this dangerous course. While we can’t hope to eliminate the use of plastic bags immediately, reusable tote bags will do a great deal of good for the environment.
Recycling: a Highly Flawed Solution
If you believe recycling plastic bags is an adequate solution when weighed against using reusable wholesale shopping bags, it is helpful to look at the facts. Recycling costs us a great deal of money and energy in transporting and processing costs. Since the bags are no longer in our hands, we are quicker to accept a new bag. It doesn’t slow the production of bags at all and doesn’t cut down on the expense of their use, either.
With all of the information at our disposal, it is difficult to see the sense behind plastic bag production and use. Turning to wholesale shopping bags that are reusable and environmentally friendly is a far better option.
