6 Ways to Celebrate International Day Without Plastic Bags
There are fewer and fewer of them. True. But there are still many around. Too many.
Did you know that about 500 billion plastic bags are used on a global scale?
And have you ever really stopped to think about what happens to all those billions of plastic bags?
Surely you have already heard about it: it is the marine ecosystem, in particular, that is suffering the most from plastic pollution.
It is now well known that as many as 31 species of marine mammals have ingested plastic in their lifetime as well as more than 100 species of seabirds.
Just as it is equally well known that more than 250 species have become entangled in plastic and that plastic pollution at sea is carrying invasive species around the oceans, which can have a catastrophic influence on biodiversity.
Of course, even we humans are not immune to the impact that plastic pollution in the sea is having: plastic particles dispersed into the oceans end up compromising our health as well, as they enter our food chain.
Well, the International Day Without Plastic Bags-which was celebrated last July 3-is dedicated precisely to broadening general awareness of such issues and to raising the world’s awareness of a real and now pressing problem.
We use them for an incredibly short time (usually less than 25 minutes) and dispose of them, without thinking too much about it.
However, even if they vanish from our thoughts, those thin plastic bags certainly do not vanish from our world!
In fact, those intangible plastic bags remain on our planet for up to 500 years before decaying completely.
As a result, they have a profound impact on our environment: in the great expanses of the ocean there are huge floating islands composed of all kinds of plastic waste, islands that reach hundreds of miles, like great monuments to humanity’s wastefulness and disregard for the world in which we live.
International Plastic Bag Free Day gives us an opportunity each year to remind ourselves and others that every action we take (so even every single plastic bag we use) affects everyone’s life, now and for generations to come.
Therefore, this initiative encourages all of us to look for more sustainable alternatives.
In this regard, visit https://zerowasteeurope.eu, you are sure to find plenty and valuable advice.
And for those of you who are quivering with the urge to get going right away with new, more sustainable habits, we have already gathered 6 ideas here to make sure that, from now on, every day is an (International) Day without Plastic Bags
Here is our special TOP LIST: the 6 best ways to continue celebrating the International Plastic Bag Free Day all year round.
1 Let’s start with the simplest, as well as the most obvious: try to avoid plastic bags as much as possible. Remember to bring your own reusable shopping bags and for whatever purchases you make, demand plastic-free bags and containers from retailers.
2 If you own a store yourself, stop offering plastic bags as an option and start a program to encourage your customers to bring their own reusable bags and containers.
3 For the more proactive, there is the opportunity to participate in one of the many gatherings of people walking along roads, beaches, and rivers to pick up all the trash they find along the way.
4 Offer to help organize events and network with all the other people who are working to really make a difference with respect to the plastic bag pollution problem, starting in your area and reaching, why not, around the world.
5 Create “your own” reusable shopping bag! There are plenty of online tutorials and interesting craft ideas for creating personal shoppers–it’s the perfect way to show your style as well as your commitment to a good cause.
6 Don’t stop at plastic bags, go further, start and recycle all the plastic you have in your home and office.
Excellent. Now you are ready to raise the bar of challenge a little more.
After all, if you were able to keep away from single-use plastic bags throughout the day on July 3, 2022, don’t you think it is possible to do so for the rest of the year as well?
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