Earlier this week, we were talking about the reasons people defend their plastic bag habit.  We listen to the ‘reusable bag chatter’ and can tell you that people tweet about it, blog about it and comment on it almost every day.  So what are the top 2 reasons people haven’t made the switch to reusable bags? 

#1:  “I need free plastic grocery bags to line the small trash cans in my home”

If you’ve starting bringing your own bag, you’ve probably noticed that those darn plastic bags still pop up.  Unless you live alone, you’ll have a hard time eliminating them completely. 

You probably have a pretty good stash that can be used to line your trash cans.  If not, you’re probably using too many trash can liners.  Think about it, do you really have to line every trash can in your house with a plastic bag?  And if you do, how often do you need to replace that plastic bag?  Consider not lining your trash cans at all -- you can rinse or spray them if they need cleaning.  If you do need a liner, reuse that liner for as long as possible.  

#2:  Yes, the REAL #2! “I use plastic bags to clean up after my dog”

So, how DO you pick up doo left behind by our furry friends?  Do you really want to wrap it in a plastic bag, mummifying it for 500-1000 years in a landfill? We get asked this question a lot and have come up with the following ideas for dealing with pet waste:

Pay close attention to bags that get hidden inside your reusable bags. Check out baggers often double-bag meat and ice cream, for example. Also keep your produce bags.

Save bread bags, bagel bags, tortilla bags, gently used sandwich bags, and other food wrappings.  There is so much plastic packaging out there—if you raise your awareness for a couple of weeks you’ll come across lots of baggies that can be repurposed.

Save small paper bags and wrappings from donut and pastry shops, delicatessens, and the hot dog vendor outside your office. It’s not hard to find a twig to use to push waste into the bag or wrapper.

Look for trash that inconsiderate people have littered on the ground and use it to pick up the waste, killing two birds with one stone.

The best possible solution is to purchase biodegradable dog poop bags.  You can find them at most pet stores – or you can check out poopbags.com 

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