by Smarti Marti
Smart Shopping Bags are:
- Smart for the environment
- Smart for sustainability
- Strong and durable
- Eco-friendly repurposing and upcycling
- Avoids further landfill and plastics pollution
If you own a large dog, you buy food (kibbles) in large plastic bags weighing 30 – 40 pounds. Most standard dog food bags are made of plastic and are non-biodegradable. So what do you do with the empty plastic bags? I used to throw them in the garbage, because my local recycling center does not accept non-food-grade, non-stretchy plastic bags. Now, I upcycle them into reusable shopping bags. Before re-purposing, the bags need to be prepared for their transformation by washing and eliminating odors.
Corporate challenge to Iams: consider changing packaging from plastic to biodegradable textile that decomposes quickly and/or to thick paper.
“The Earth will not continue to offer its harvest, except with faithful stewardship.”
John paul II
Question: How long does it take for plastics to decompose?
Answer: Plastics are nearly forever! According to WWF Australia…
- Plastic bags – 20 to 500 years
- Take-away coffee cups – 30 years
- Coffee pods – 500 years
- Disposable diapers – 500 years
- Plastic cups – 450 years
- Plastic bottles – 450 years
- 6 pack plastic rings – 400 years
- Plastic straws – 200 years
urban HANDmades 