Are Reusable vs plastic bags a pointless distraction?

Most Plastic bags end up in the ocean and kill marine life. Reducing the amount of plastic in the ocean is not pointless

Not everyone can afford a Prius, but everyone shops. Yes the wealthy have one more box to check off, but using reusable bags is action that the rest of us can take to reduce unnecessary waste and pollution.

While the rich and famous may be using re-usable bags as a 'green-screen' to bring attention away from their other very wasteful and ecologically damaging practices, that does not mean it is wrong. Those people will do anything to polish their image, and we shouldn't slow the momentum of a very important change just because some people don't get it. Anyone with half a mind can see that in the case of most celebrities who claim to be green, just the opposite is true.

Plastic in general is a huge pollution issue, and if we can reduce its use in any form, that is an important step. Yes, we need to do more than that, but that is no reason to discourage people to contribute in any way they can.

I think to a certain degree reusables are almost as bad as disposables simply because you're buying something new to do a job a bookbag/gym bag/old hat bag/altered fishing net/your idea here -> _____ could do. Don't forget the 3 Rs - reduce REUSE recycle

Creating an eco plastic bag is definitely a wonderful first step. But its only a small step. We all need to start taking responsibility for our actions. Blaming the shops for supplying bags is not the solution. We must all reduce our need for bags. use cloth bags that last for years. Yes they are hard to remember at first, but come on that is no excuse. We are more intelligent that plastic bags. Its not even necisery to buy a new cloth bag, most people will have some kind of bag at home they could use. Or at least for the near future we could all reuse all those plastic bags we have stored under the sink.

Check out my eco blog.

ed
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New Blog post - War and its Climate Crimes. http://thewasteproject.wordpress.com/

Re-useable bags help best when they are not regarded as fashion items... I carry a small cloth bag in my pocket wherever I go and it has proved it's-self useful over and over. But buying a high end designer one just cause it's the latest thing seems likely to be a wasteful empty gesture which does not indicate a change in thinking, does not cut down on the amount of unnecessary "stuff" that there is in the world and ultimately does not reduce the amount of plastic bags in circulation. It's just commercialisation of what happens to be a very serious problem.

But you know what? Since all those fashionable designer shopping totes came out it's become easier to refuse plastic bags in shops without being looked at as if you had three heads. It's a tiny step, but little changes in attitude eventually add up. We just need to accelerate that process and look at bigger targets.