Why Reusable?
Get the facts about the importance of reusable shopping totes and stainless steel water bottles as an alternative to single-use, disposable plastic and paper products.
 

Is using a reusable bag or bottle really that important?
The answer is without a doubt, yes. From production line to landfill, disposable bags and bottles diminish natural resources, threaten wildlife and generate an array of toxins and pollutants that have been linked to diseases in humans.

 

Many single-use products are over-consumed, yet few are as ubiquitous as the shopping bag and bottled water.

Disturbing Facts about Plastic Bags

·          500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year. The US is responsible for at least 100 billion of these.
·          Every reusable bag bought or distributed prevents about 400 plastic bags from being used.

·          Less than 3% of plastic bags are ever recycled.

·          The US alone uses approximately 12 million barrels of oil each year to make plastic bags.

·          The refinement of plastic generates multiple toxic by-products, many of which have been linked to cancer, birth defects and damage to nervous and immune systems. Over half of the energy required to manufacture plastic bags is generated by nuclear fission, which requires the disposal of radioactive waste in deep sea trenches and underground caves.

·          Unexposed to natural elements, plastic bags remain intact for about 1,000 years. Outdoors they never fully degrade, breaking down into smaller and smaller pieces until absorbed by soil and water. This dust then has the potential to enter the food chain through lower level organisms.

·          As plastic decomposes it releases the highly toxic organochlorine and the greenhouse gas methane. In addition, it is estimated that 100,000 marine animals die every year from ingesting or becoming entangled in plastic bags.

Disturbing Facts about Paper Bags

·          The US consumes approximately 10 billion paper bags each year.

·          Less than 20% of paper bags are ever recycled.

·          Production of a paper bag is actually more detrimental than that of plastic.

·          Over 14 million trees are felled to produce our country’s annual supply of paper bags.

·          Paper mills release millions of tons of toxic wastewater each day, toxins that are linked to cancer and reproductive defects in humans. Because of its weight, paper doubles the fuel consumption of a motor engine.

·          It takes 91% more energy to recycle a pound of paper than it takes to recycle a pound of plastic.

·          Paper decomposition releases carbon dioxide and methane.

·          Paper bags take up 9 times more space in landfills.

Disturbing Facts about Plastic Bottles

Bottled water is the food phenomenon of our times. We--a generation raised on tap water and water fountains--drink a billion bottles of water a week, and we're raising a generation that views tap water with disdain and water fountains with suspicion. We've come to pay good money--two or three or four times the cost of gasoline--for a product we have always gotten, and can still get, for free, from taps in our homes.

·          We pitch into landfills 38 billion water bottles a year -- in excess of $1 billion worth of plastic.
·          80% of plastic bottles are never recycled.
·          Plastic bottles take 700 years to begin composting.
·          24 million gallons of oil are needed to produce a billion plastic bottles.
·          Bottled water is the second most popular beverage in the United States. One-fourth
of the bottled water we buy is tap water repackaged by Coke and Pepsi.
 

While most people think of the disposable bag as free, the costs associated with its manufacture and disposal are passed on, at least in part, to consumers.

It is estimated that retailers in the United States pay $4 billion dollars every year for plastic bags, an expense that shoppers absorb in the form of higher prices and taxes.

 

From a consumer standpoint, reusable bags are cost-effective.

The average grocery store credits shoppers 5-10 cents for every reusable bag you bring. This means a reusable bag will more than pay for itself over the course of its lifetime.