Corey Pierce

The moist, salty air envelopes you. The clear horizons in all directions provide seclusion from the crowds. The waters are fairly calm, but sea life bustles below the surface. We’re at a newly formed island in the pacific between California and Hawaii. It’s twice the size of Texas and is known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It’s an island of accumulated garbage, 80 per cent of which is plastic.

Canadians are contributing to the formation of this new island. We use nine to 15 billion single-use plastic shopping bags each year. Because plastic bags are easily transported by wind and water, they can travel great distances, ending up in forests, grasslands, waterways and oceans — hence this new plastic island. There are, in fact, approximately 46,000 pieces of plastic floating in each 2.6 square kilometres of the world’s oceans.

The impact of our desire for the convenience of disposable plastic bags over reusable options is considerable. In some parts of the ocean, there’s more plastic than plankton. Plastic bags are estimated to kill up to one million sea birds, 100,000 sea mammals and countless fish each year. Turtles, dolphins and whales can choke on them or starve to death when they become lodged in their digestive tracts. Meanwhile, on land, plastic bags kill birds, livestock and deer.

The ubiquitous plastic bag is going to be around for awhile. While the average bag is used for just five minutes, it takes up to 1,000 years to break down. The way in which plastic bags break down is also problematic. The bags photodegrade, meaning they break down into smaller and smaller pieces, thus contaminating soil, water and eventually the food chain.

Clearly, the convenience of transporting goods from store to home carries a high price. Switching to reusable bags is a paradigm shift requiring a change in daily routines that most of us just don’t seem to manage. And recycling plastic bags isn’t going to save us from our bad habits. A report by the U.K. government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs indicates the collection and transport of plastic waste is difficult and expensive, plastic segregation is challenging for the many varieties of plastic, and the high level of contamination, especially with food products, makes plastic recycling less practical. As a result, some towns, cities and countries have enacted plastic bag bans.

Locally, Community Natural Foods has announced it’s going plastic-bag-free by Earth Day (April 22). It’s the first grocer in Alberta to make the move.

According to Liam Muzichuk, Community Natural Foods store manager, “As a natural health foods retailer, it just makes sense to show a commitment to environmental health. Single-use plastic bags are simply an unnecessary part of our business. By removing them we’ll lower our impact and help to change our customers’ shopping habits.”

The grocer is going to be giving away reusable bags made of 100 per cent recycled materials (pop bottles) on Earth Day to help customers make the switch.

Muzichuk says he hopes other local retailers will follow suit. “Collectively, all retailers in Calgary could encourage customers to use reusable bags simply by not offering a plastic bag, thus affecting positive environmental change.”

Whole Foods, the world’s largest chain of natural health food stores with locations throughout North America and the U.K., is also ditching plastic bags by Earth Day. Waiting for retailers and governments to enact green policies isn’t necessary, though. Changing your shopping habits is simply a matter of commitment. Have reusable bags on hand in your house, your car, your office and/or stuffed in your pannier. When writing out your grocery list, add “remember reusable bags” to the top of the list. If you’re buying just one or two items, carry them in your hands and refuse a bag. Next time you’re buying clothes, take a fashionable bag with you to transport your new threads home. And the next time you find yourself face to face with a cashier who gives you a confused look when you refuse a bag, start a dialogue, and explain why you’ve switched to a bag-free personal policy.

Alternatively, we can all continue to support the use of convenient, disposable items and plan our future vacations at the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. With our help, it’s sure to grow.

A plastic-bag-free world

Places with plastic bag bans include: Bangladesh; Bhutan; China as of June 1; Leaf Rapids, Manitoba; Paris, France; San Francisco and Oakland, California; and Zanzibar.