Convenient, economical and efficient: Most people use resealable bags on an everyday basis because they are so handy. The problem is that they’re plastic and the other problem is that most people use their plastic bags once and then throw them away.
Consider some of the facts.
One ton of recycled plastic saves:
- 5,774 kWh of electricity.
- 685 gallons of oil.
- 98 million Btu’s of energy.
- 30 cubic yards of landfill space.
Plastic takes up to 1,000 years to degrade in a landfill. Recycling plastic takes 88% less energy than making plastic from raw materials. Enough plastic is thrown away each year to circle the Earth four times. Americans throw away 35 billion plastic bottles every year. Only about 25% of the plastic produced in the U.S. is recycled. If we recycled the other 75% we could save 1 billion gallons of oil and 44 million cubic yards of landfill space annually. It’s estimated that plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the ocean kill as many as 1,000,000 sea creatures every year.
And while the ecological impact is significant, consider the money wasted when repurchasing an item that can just as easily be repurposed. Here are some ideas for avoiding tossing them after every use.
Reuse Them
To reuse your plastic bags, all you have to do is turn them inside out (making sure the corners are pulled out completely) and wash them along with your dishes. To dry them, fluff them up and place them on the top shelf of an empty dishwasher.
To avoid cross-contamination, label your bags with categories. For examples, bread crumbs, dry pasta, rice, and crackers could be labeled as “dry goods.” You can use bags outside of the kitchen as well. They are great for keeping toy accessories, game pieces, crayons and other crafts in one place and easy to find.
Recycle: Practical is not Political
For the last year, Ziploc® has been on a mission creating the Ziploc® brigade and partnering with a number of for-profit businesses and social businesses to incetivize reusing and recycling their products. Now, thanks to a new partnership between Ziploc® and RecycleBank (read more about the partnership at http://tcaatx.us/recycleplastic), consumers can claim rewards for each Ziploc® bag they recycle. RecycleBank rewards individuals by assigning points for recycling and other actions. The points earned can then be redeemed for rewards like gift cards and discounted products (another cool application of social business filling the gaps to make the world a better place!)
So, if you can’t reuse plastic storage bags, clean and dry them, then recycle them along with any other plastic bags you have cluttering up the kitchen in a supermarket recycling bin. If the future environment is not incentive enough, think of all the savings!
Life is too short to clean your own home. You are not alone; we’re here for all of your green house cleaning maid service needs. Request a quote or call us today at 512.827.8657.
Towards keeping Austin clean, Drew
Related articles
- The Problem with Plastic Bags: Government Working to Tax or Ban Bags (prweb.com)
- Green Tips for Earth Month (wholefoodsmarket.com)
- How-To: Plastic Bag Crochet (craftzine.com)
- Plastic Friends…. (plasticisrubbish.wordpress.com)
- Choose Good Household Goods (wholefoodsmarket.com)
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