Why are plastic bags an issue?
Whilst plastic shopping bags are only light, flimsy articles - they are a frivolous emblem of our wasteful society, that has got used to consuming and throwing things away without thinking about the implications. We realised that contrary to popular belief...plastic shopping bags aren't FREE...they are a cost to retailers, to our environment and to us...and we could do without them, as there are many other sustainable alternatives to use instead.There are 5000 folks in Golden Bay and together we use approx. 1 million plastic shopping bags every year - that is almost one bag per person per day; contributing to the approx. 1.2 billion plastic shopping bags used every year by our 4million New Zealanders!!That so few people use so much plastic says a lot about our wasteful habits. We have forgotten how to shop or consumer sensibly.Not only are plastic shopping bags a needless use of precious fossil fuels; they end up as litter and landfill and they can kill wildlife and cattle when they are ingested. They are estimated to take 500 years to break down in landfills, and even then, the micro plastic particles remain in the earth and leach out to our waterways and into the foodchain. Doing away with plastic shopping bags is easier than you think. Use cloth bags, baskets or cardboard boxes when you go shopping. In your rubbish bin, line it with newspaper or other bags such as bread bags, potato bags etcKeep a bag handy, so when you find yourself doing some shopping, you don't have to accept the plastic bag that the retailer will offer.If you have forgotten your bag, ask the retailer for a cardboard box. Sadly, a lot of retailers are more keen to bundle up their old cardboard boxes to get the recycle money, than to offer them as a service to their customers.
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