Until we can get a statewide ban on plastic bags, we need to come up with clever ways to limit the number of plastic bags uses on a daily basis. In order to do that, we need to be creative. One initiative that is currently underway in Australia sees environmental activists (One Million Women) taking discarded clothing and upcycled the remnants into reusable shopping bags.
Australians use over 10 million plastic bags every day. Boomerang Bags is an incredible Australian initiative tackling this mammoth problem in a wonderfully unique away!
The way that Boomerang Bags works is relatively easy. People donate their used clothing, which is then repurposed. There are bins at the local markets, where shoppers can pick up the bags (when they forget their own). Upon returning to the market, the bags are returned to the bins, hence “Boomerang Bags”.
At this point, one of the only things standing in the way of banning plastic bags is the concern that low income shoppers would not be able to afford to purchase reusable bags. It’s time to stop using this excuse as a way to keep plastic bags in circulation. By doing so, we are ruining the environment. We need to be proactive when it comes to our reliance upon plastic bags.
To realize how grave this situation has become, just stand at a checkout lane at any given supermarket, and watch the sea of plastic bags being rolled away in shopping carts. If you are not using reusable bags by this point of time, then you’re part of the problem. It’s time to get our collective act together on this one. No more excuses.
At the same time, supermarkets have got to start creating awareness campaigns. They are the source of the problem, and it’s up to them to help curb this mounting environmental disaster.
Somehow, someway, we need to come together to solve this problem. Whether it’s jumping onboard with Boomerang Bags, or coming up with awareness campaigns, the time is now to curb your over-dependence on plastic shopping bags.