Back in December, the Dutchess County Environmental Management Council (a group formed by the Dutchess County legislature to advise and educate county, local governments, and the public on environmental issues) came up with a promotion titled “A Week of Shopping Green.” The Management Council’s goal is to make us aware of how much garbage and waste we dispose of on a daily basis. Let’s start with plastic.

Plastic bags were introduced in 1977. Today, 90% of all grocery bags are plastic. Every minute of every day, we consume one half million plastic bags. This comes with a huge price. In the U.S. alone we use 100 million bags annually. To produce these bags, it takes 12 million barrels of oil to manufacture a nonrenewable single use item that takes more than 1,000 years to decompose. The ads that you see on these bags use paint with Mercury which creates unhealthy Mercury levels in our homes. Many of these bags end up floating in the ocean and sea turtles as well as many other marine mammals mistake the bags for jellyfish, eat them and die.

Paper bags also have their problems. Fourteen million trees are cut down and converted into paper bags in this country. Manufacturing of these paper bags produce greenhouse gasses as well as transportation costs. Paper bags are biodegradable, but modern landfills don’t get enough light and water for decomposition.

The solution to this wasteful problem is to use less plastic and paper bags. There is no need to put 1-3 items in a bag. If you need a bag, use paper over plastic, or better yet, keep reusable bags on hand- which is hopefully becoming a trend. Suggest to local retailers or write a letter to the CEO of these companies asking them to take a leading role in finding ways to help and to educate customers to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

It is time to educate our children to the problems our disposable society creates when it produces too much waste. Sensitize students on being more responsible for the natural world we live in. Change family behavior by making a conscious effort to reduce, reuse, recycle and purchase reusable grocery bags. Keep these bags where they are readily available. Encourage friends and neighbors to reduce, reuse, and recycle instead of disposing of what we no longer want. If we all start taking an active role in our waste disposal habits, some day we may be talking less trash.

*Also printed in the following publications: Pawling Matters April 2009, Harlem Valley Herald April 2009.