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| Grocery Bags |
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Next time you go grocery shopping, BYOB—bring your own bags. Did you know it takes one 15- to 20-year-old tree to make enough paper for only 700 grocery bags? What about plastic? They may be more convenient than paper but they're not biodegradable. Plastic bags often wind up in the ocean and kill marine animals that get tangled up in them or swallow them. Paper bags are biodegradable but are often made from virgin paper because, manufacturers say, heavy loads require the long fibers in virgin pulp.
Plastic bags can be recycled at many grocery stores, and paper bags can be recycled with other paper, but the recycling process and manufacture of new bags require much more energy—resulting in more greenhouse gas—than the production of reusable cloth bags. Bring cloth bags with you every time you shop (for groceries, clothes, and everything else). If you forget, put your purchases in as few bags as possible, and be sure to recycle the bags. |