of Resource Recovery
1045 Independence Blvd
Charlotte, MI 48813
(517) 543-3686 phone
(517) 543-8457 fax
/ Media Contact:
Lisa Lafferty, Resource Recovery Coordinator
(517)543-3686
NEWS RELEASE: Choose to Reuse!
Great quantities of oil used in creation of plastic bags
March 19, 2008
CHARLOTTE, Mich. —Tell me, do you like the price of gasoline these days? If you’re like me, you hate it. I try to reduce the need whenever possible but it isn’t always possible.
Try this on for size: it takes 12 million barrels of oil each year to create all of the plastic bags used in the United States. That’s one more reason to choose reusable shopping bags. If everyone switched to reusable shopping bags, the need for oil would be reduced greatly. If the need is reduced, there is a chance the price of oil could drop. And most definitely, using so much less of this resource is a great thing especially considering that plastic bags in landfills take forever to break down, cause problems to wildlife on land and in the oceans and they blow around causing a visual blight on the landscape.
If all Americans reduced the use of plastic bags by just 50%, 1.8 million barrels of oil would be saved. There are so many pros in favor of reusable shopping bags: they are washable, easily stored in vehicles, carry twice as much as a regular plastic shopping bag, they last a long time and you don’t end up with stockpiles of bags in need of recycling. The added bonus, less resources needed to create them, including oil.
Earth Day is right around the corner and the Eaton County Department of Resource Recovery has a brand new stock of colorful, reusable and washable shopping bags with the fun slogan, “Shrink your waste and shape up your can! Try the trash diet and lose up to four lbs a week!” Stop in and pick up a few - they’re affordable, long-lasting and carry a lot!
For the latest information on efforts to assist Eaton County residents with household hazardous waste, waste reduction, recycling and reuse options, contact the Department of Resource Recovery at (517)543-3686.
Submitted by Lisa Lafferty, Eaton County Department of Resource Recovery Coordinator.