We’ve heard it a thousand times- start using reusable bags before going shopping. Plastic bags are littering the oceans. They’re killing sea turtles. When statistics, videos, pictures, etc. are hitting us from every social media platform, it’s hard not to get desensitized. But it’s more serious than it seems.

Some scary plastic bag facts you may not have heard:

1. The United States uses over 100 BILLION plastic bags a year. Click HERE to visit The World Counts’ real-time number of plastic bags being produced since the beginning of 2019. (Hint: It’s in the trillions already.)
2. The production of plastic bags requires petroleum and, in a lot of cases, natural gases. Creating 14 plastic bags uses approximately the same amount of gases and petroleum as driving your car a single mile.
3. Globally, plastic bags are used around 12 minutes before being discarded. It takes 500 years or more for plastic bags to break down, and even then, they don’t break down fully. They become miscroplastics and continue to pollute food, soil, and drinking water. Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not still there!

The main two issues keeping people from reusable bags are first obtaining the bags, and then, conversely, having them, but still forgetting to bring them shopping. Here are some solutions:

1. Obtaining the bags. Although you can always go out and buy your reusable bags, that isn’t your only option. Most of my reusable bags I didn’t purchase. One is from a Christmas gift in 2009. One is from my dentist. One is a beach bag my step mom passed down to me. One is a free “bonus” for purchasing a special shirt in the store the Lunch Box. Allow yourself to stumble upon these free bags! You don’t have to acquire your bag collection all at once.
2. Forgetting to Bring Them Shopping. It happens. Don’t beat yourself up. My fool-proof way of remembering my bags is to leave them in my trunk. When I go grocery shopping and forget them, the most I have to do is walk back to my car. If there is another car you know you frequent (i.e. spouse, significant other, best friend, parent), asking the owner of the car if you can place some of your bags in their car can reduce the number of times you are caught off guard. In some cases, the owner of that car may end up using the bags as well! The rest is HABIT, HABIT, HABIT. The more you do it, the more you’ll remember! Soon, it will become second nature.

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It's Friday and that means #plasticfreefriday 🙌🏼🌿 Remember your reusable bag whenever you are going somewhere and ditch the plastic bags! #plasticfree #notoplasticbags #bringyourown #bringyourownbag #lesswaste #lowwaste #sustainable #sustainability #miljø #bæredygtig #bæredygtighed #consciousliving #ecofriendly #ecoliving #dogoodfeelgood #turtlebags #reusable #reusablebag #sustaindaily #beatplasticpollution

A post shared by Cert. Holistic Health Coach 🍋🌿 (@camillatromborg) on Mar 9, 2018 at 1:04am PST

My favorite benefit of using reusable bags is it only takes me one trip to bring my groceries inside. Fifteen + plastic Walmart bags turns into 4 reusable bags. Mine have long straps, so I can shoulder some and carry others. This was especially nice when I lived on the 7th floor of my dorm rooms freshman year of college.

What are some things that you are doing or want to do to stop using plastic bags? Do you have any tips or tricks that I didn’t mention? Let me know in the comments.

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