What shall we do about plastic bags?

Clearly, most people have a knee jerk reaction when asked if plastic bags should be banned. While plastic may seem like an obvious environmental demon, they don't require cutting down trees to produce, need less energy to manufacture and transport than paper and are largely recyclable. While they do not biodegrade as a paper bag does, most discarded bags, be they paper or plastic, still end up in a landfill where nothing biodegrades. Additionally, sometimes plastic is the better option. I personally don't want to put my kitchen trash in a paper bag, do you?

The answer is not to ban plastic but to push for more sustainable methods in manufacturing, better access to recycling programs and minimizing our use of plastic whenever possible.

Not all plastic is bad! Actually plastic is a natural product which doesn't take a lot of resources or energy to make. The only problem is that that the way plastic binds together means it lasts forever and doesn't breakdown. That is except for some amazing compostable plastic options now. We need to fast-track this technology to make sure there is no option but compostable plastic! Check out www.goody.com.au