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As I walked my recycling to some nearby bins the other day, I proudly realized that my roommate and I produce more trash for recycling than we do to throw away. I try to recycle all that I can, even down to toilet paper rolls and empty plastic bags of lettuce. Recycling brings me much satisfaction. It provides this immediate gratification in knowing that as an individual you are making one of the most impacting decisions that you can make for your environment as an individual. One person can’t solve all the world’s environmental problems, but they can be faithful in doing their part, and thus make a small, but significant, move in the right direction.
Another way that I make a small difference is by not using plastic bags from grocery stores and from other stores. My Aunt Diane bought me these awesome bags for Christmas that I use for my groceries. They are made of hemp and can be bought at www.reusablebags.com . Whole Foods will actually take off 5 cents for every bag that you are reusing. When I lived in Amsterdam, I really loved their policy at grocery stores. If you wanted a plastic bag you had to buy it for 25 euro cents. This charging for bags was a big incentive to bring your own bags.
My sister took not taking plastic bags to the next level by not taking them at the mall. She has actually walked out of a store with a shirt and receipt in her bare hand! If I don’t already have a bag with me at the mall, I will only accept as many as I need. So if I already have been given one, I will combine a later purchase into the bag I had acquired earlier. I will never take a bag if I can carry the purchase and take it right to my car. It’s almost ridiculous to think of the amount of bags that you can take; it almost seems that America has a problem with its companies giving out so many plastic bags. On second thought, the plastic bag issue IS a problem. Here are some of the facts from www.reusablebags.com:
Top Facts - Consumption

Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide. That comes out to over one million per minute. Billions end up as litter each year.
According to the EPA, over 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps are consumed in the U.S. each year.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually. (Estimated cost to retailers is $4 billion)
According to the American Forest and Paper Association, in 1999 the U.S. alone used 10 billion paper grocery bags, requiring 14 million trees to be cut down.
According to the industry publication Modern Plastics, Taiwan consumes 20 billion bags a year—900 per person.
According to Australia’s Department of Environment, Australians consume 6.9 billion plastic bags each year—326 per person. An estimated .7% or 49,600,000 end up as litter each year.

Top Facts - Environmental Impact:

Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, whales and other marine mammals die every year from eating discarded plastic bags mistaken for food.
Plastic bags don’t biodegrade, they photodegrade—breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and entering the food web when animals accidentally ingest.
As part of Clean Up Australia Day, in one day nearly 500,000 plastic bags were collected.
Windblown plastic bags are so prevalent in Africa that a cottage industry has sprung up harvesting bags and using them to weave hats, and even bags. According to the BBC, one group harvests 30,000 per month.
According to David Barnes, a marine scientist with the British Antarctic Survey, plastic bags have gone “from being rare in the late 80s and early 90s to being almost everywhere from Spitsbergen 78° North [latitude] to Falklands 51° South [latitude].
Plastic bags are among the 12 items of debris most often found in coastal cleanups, according to the nonprofit Center for Marine Conservation.

This site has a ton of other information that we don’t hear everyday, including an on-going counter that counts how many plastic bags have been consumed world-wide this year.
I share this with you because first and foremost, I believe it is important because God gave us dominion over the earth, and therefore, taking care of it is a way to honor Him. We should not so mindlessly abuse the beauty He has created. Secondly, to abuse it is ultimately just shooting ourselves in the foot. We do have to live here after all. I really appreciate a quote that an all-natural products company, Seventh Generation (www.seventhgeneration.com), derives their name from and puts on the front of their products. It says, “in our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.” That idea is given to us from the Great Law of the Iroquois Confederacy. It’s such an important reality to keep in the forefront of our minds as we make daily decisions, and that is, how I choose to live today is not without impact and not with consequence for me and for those who will come after me. For this same reason, I also choose to buy organic products. Although they can be more expensive (but not always), the methods of farming without the use of toxic pesticides are far better for our soil and the short and long term sustainability of our earth. So although you may be paying more, you are in effect, making the statement that, “our environment is important, more important than me saving ten dollars a week if I am supporting a system and ideology that is working to support and protect the environment.”
I enjoy playing my part and I would love any suggestions on what else I could do to help be a good world citizen. On that note, you can leave a comment here on my website and I can respond to it!
I haven’t yet figured out how to make direct links, so unfortunately, you will have to type in the addresses to get to them.