The bag was just there

This week’s green challenge was to avoid using plastic bags and it has been a difficult one for me.  For those just joining us, I have a new green task to complete over the course of a year.  My green wife chooses what they are and my un-green self must research and act.  I have had some successes and also some failures this week, but am glad that Ashley gave me this task and will continue to work on training my brain to say no to plastic bags.  Although this task has been somewhat challenging for me, I have certainly learned quite a bit and think I am in the process of making a change along the way.

I learned that the world consumes an unbelievable number of plastic bags (500,000,000,000), a good amount of natural resources are needed to create these plastic bags, only a very small percentage of plastic bags are recycled and finally that plastic bags kill animals.  Overall, the production of the bags and waste produced is harmful to our environment and to the planet.  That being said, I need to minimize my use of these bags.

Even though I know that these things are bad for the environment, I learned that it was difficult for me to minimize my use.  It was not difficult to choose whether to take a plastic bag or not, but it was difficult to remember to say no.  Too often this week, I walked out of a store and realized, after the fact, that I had a bag.  As a consumer, I have been trained to go through the shopping process and take a bag without thinking about it.  I recognized this problem early on and have taken steps to retrain my brain.

First, I wrote “No Plastic” on my hand in ink.  OK, this might be a bit silly and a little dramatic, but I was slightly upset with myself for not being able to kick the plastic habit.  This made me look at “No Plastic” before I grab a bag.  I also placed one of our canvas bags in my car so that I can bring this into the store if I have to shop.  These steps, along with my wife’s help, have led to a few successful scenarios where I did not take a bag.

It has certainly been an interesting week and will continue to work on un-training my brain.  Even though I may not have completed the task to a Tee, I have recognized that a big part of being green is daily habits.  These habits and daily decisions can have a big impact on the long term environment.  Let me know any of your plastic bag tips in the area below and stay tuned for this week’s task coming up shortly!