Help Stop the Use of Petroleum Based Plastic Bags

Plastic Bags are only used for about 10 minutes and then tossed. They are difficult to recycle and it is not economically efficient to do so. Plastic bags also cost businesses lots of money to offer them free to consumers. Plastic bags never biodegrade and even when it breaks into smaller peices it only enters our food chain. Plastic Bags often fly away or make their way into our oceans.This kind of environmental and health damage is not worth the 10 minute convenience of a plastic bag. Furthermore, the daily use of plastic bags only perpetuates our reliance on oil. Please, stop using and/or offering plastic bags. Doing so could make a tremendous difference in our environment and economy both locally and globally.

Over 100 billion plastic bags are used in the United States each year, and according to the EPA less than 5 percent of those are recycled. Depending on the conditions in which a plastic bag ends up, it can take anywhere from 1 year to 1,000 years to biodegrade.

Before the bag biodegrades completely, it often has negative consequences for marine life, suffocating marine mammals, ensnaring fish, or choking aquatic birds. As the bag biodegrades, it releases toxins such as BPA and phthalates, which eventually find their way back to our dinner plates. These pollutants have been linked to thyroid disorders, abnormal fetal development, and cancer.

It is also worth noting that plastic bags are made with petroleum. The Wall Street Journal reported that more than 12 million barrels of oil are devoted to the manufacture of grocery bags every year in America. In other words, the environmental cost of plastic bags are threefold:
A) They are detrimental to marine ecosystems
B) They have negative health consquences for individuals and society
C) They are derived from dirty fossil fuels

Together, we can help Publix change their bag policy to reflect some or all of the following:

Opt to use a plant-based polylactic acid plastic (PLA) instead of convential petroleum-based plastic. PLA biodegrades into carbon dioxide and water in about 3 months.
Provide an incentive to customers who use re-usable grocery bags, maybe 15 cents per bag. At the family average of 1500 bags per year, that's an annual savings of $225 per year!
Charge customers for each plastic bag they use. This will help Publix offset the cost of switching to PLA bags and help to subsidize the patrons who use re-usable bags.
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