“Do you ever feel, like a plastic bag…” -Katy Perry

So if you couldn’t tell by the title, we are gunna be talking about plastic bags! As someone (me) who seems to acquire them so frequently and stashes a pile to be used for trash bags, they still seem to pile up so fast. And thats because it is! An average American family will actually take home about 1500 plastic bags a year. If this doesn’t sound too intimidating to you, according to Waste Management, only 1 percent of plastic bags are returned for recycling. That means that the average family only recycles 15 bags a year; the rest ends up in landfills as litter.

I’m not saying if you use plastic bags, you are a terrible person. I even use some plastic bags as well. But there are some simplier alternatives you could make in your life to impact the world in a huge way. For example, we have all seen and heard of the re-usable bags that have been around for a while. That is always a very effective way to eliminate a problem. But sometimes it’s not that easy. Something else you could do to start, is set aside a seperate pile of all your plastic bags to be returned to a recycler.

A lot of people do not realize that plastic bags cannot be recyled in your curbside bin at home. It has to be taken to a drop-off location, like a grocery or other retail store, to be collected for recycling. Most curbside recycing do not have the correct machines to properly recycle plastic bags. The best and most efficient way to help is taking them to your local super market. In every grocery store I have set foot in around the Conway area, I have always seen a bin set up in the entrance where you can place your bags. You can also include plastic films in your plastic bag collection, for example:

• Produce bags
• Dry cleaning bags
• The wrap around paper towels and diapers
• Etc.

Its all about the little decisons we can start to make now, that can significantly make a difference in the future. I know it is intimidating, but let’s start slow and small. Let’s be better together. A very wise man once said….