Shopping Bag Facts

Every week in Canada, 55 million shopping bags are taken home from grocery stores, plus millions more from other stores.

On the average, every person in Canada puts 16-18 kilograms (35-40 pounds) of plastic in the garbage each year.

The EPA in the US reported that between 500 billion and one trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year. (National Geography News, Sept. 2, 2003.)

Before you accept another free plastic bag consider the following facts:

• Less than 1% are recycled. It actually cost more to recycle a plastic bag than to produce one-there is no monetary incentive to recycle plastic bags.
• Many of our garbage bags are dumped illegally in our oceans. A study in 1975 showed that ocean going vessels dumped 8 million pounds of plastic bags annually.
• Billions of plastic bags also find their way into oceans via rivers, drains and sewage pipes where the effects on aquatic animals such as turtles, sea birds, whales, dolphins and seals are catastrophic . These animals ingest plastic or become entangled resulting in agonizing deaths. The unsuspecting creatures often mistake the floating plastic for food! Plastic bags are found in most oceans of the world. (World Wildlife Report , 2005)
• A study of albatross chicks on Midway Island, near Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean, found that nine out of 10 birds had plastic garbage in their gullets.
• Plastic bags do not decompose! They break into smaller, more toxic petro-polymers which eventually contaminate our soil, our waterways. In time the toxic microscopic particles enter our food chain. (CNN.com/technology/Nov.6 2007)
• Plastic cannot be burned or buried safely. When it is burned it produces fluorocarbons which are carcinogens.
• When we bury plastic bags they block the natural supply of air and water to the soil. This affects plant life directly and the chain of life indirectly.
• Plastic bags can even cause landslides when plant life in mountains is reduced. Plastic bags clog the sewage pipes and often cause water to be stagnant. It reduces the water retaining capacity of the soil and this in turn affects the water table.

The 3 R’s and Plastic Bags

• Reuse old shopping bags when you go shopping.
• For small items refuse a plastic bag.
• Bring your own canvas tote bags.
• Give your extra plastic shopping bags to the Food Bank on George Street.
• The person who delivers your newspaper really appreciates your returning the blue plastic bag to be reused as they have to pay for them.

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