Green Alternative

INTRODUCTION:

The green alternative that I am interested in investigating is to stop the use of plastic bags for any reason, big NO to plastic bags and use fabric or cloth bags instead. Not only would I stop using plastic bags but would also give an initiative to friends, relatives and all the other people I know. Everyone should stop using plastic bags because these are ruining the environment slowly and gradually.

I am interested in this green alternative because the use of plastic bags pollutes the soil, water and kills thousands of marine mammals yearly. Americans throw away almost 100 billion plastic bags every year and only 1 percent to 3 percent is ever recycled. Plastic bags are not biodegradable. Biodegradable means that anything which is capable of decaying through the action of living organisms. Thus not biodegradable here means that plastic bags are not capable of decaying. Plastic bags also pose a serious danger to birds and marine mammals that often mistake them for food. Thousands die each year after swallowing or choking on discarded plastic bags. Producing plastic bags requires millions of gallons of petroleum that could be used for any transportation or heating.

I have chosen the green alternative of using a fabric bag instead of a plastic bag and put a personal ban on plastic. Some businesses have stopped offering their customers plastic bags and many communities are either considering a ban on plastic bags or have already implemented one. The green alternative that I would use instead of these bags is a reusable bag o a bag made of fabric.

This alternative has many environmental benefits and other benefits also. Due to this reason many other people will also follow and adopt this green alternative adopted by me. This way the manufacture of plastic bags would be less and the carbon emissions that are produced through the manufacture of plastic bags will also be less. Banning plastic bags is equivalent to taking 18,000 cars off the roads each year. We can imagine the environmental damage produced by 18,000 cars. Thus we can imagine that how beneficial is this alternative to the environment.

METHODS:

The first step in planning a green alternative was to ask all my family members and friends to ban the use of plastic bags. I took a piece of cloth and very systematically sewed it in such a way that it gives the use of a bag. I sewed total 15 bags of the same kind having different sizes and distributed it to my relatives and friends according to their needs. Whenever I went to go buy grocery I always took these bags along with me and said a no to plastic bags to help improve the environment.

All of us should get together and help improve the environment. I made posters of how plastic bags are sacking the environment and distributed them to all my friends and colleagues at