Earth Friendly Habits from Ginny Kuilema, member of the CCT’s Earth-Friendly Habits team:
Plastic Bags – “Non-compostable plastic bags can take up to 1000 years to decompose….are not capable of biodegradation but rather…photodegrade, a process by which the bags are broken down into smaller toxic parts.” Wikipedia
As part of your Creation Care habits, avoid using plastic bags when you can, and recycle them after using. Here are suggestions:
1. Carry a foldable tote in your car or purse, or if you have just a few items, decline the plastic bag that’s offered.
2. When possible, purchase unwrapped produce.
3. Use mesh, reusable bags for produce. (Several options are available online.)
4. Wash, dry and reuse ziploc bags. When the zip no longer locks, recycle the bag. An easy way to do this is to wash the bags when you wash dishes, hang them on a small ‘laundry line’ above the sink, fold and store after they dry.
5. Meijer accepts many types of food wrap in the recycle bins near the entrance of their stores: grocery bags, dry cleaning bags, LDE/HDPE films, salt/pellet bags, air pillows, ice bags, case overwrap, product wrap, newspaper sleeves, food storage bags, bread bags and even the liners in cereal boxes! Plastic recycled at Meijer is made into Trex lumber.
Lowes and Home Depot also accept plastic bags. Check websites for types of plastic they accept.For more information on single-use plastics, visit https://www.earthday.org/fact-sheet-single-use-plastics/
