What would happen if…

My little brain likes to wonder quite frequently, and this time it started to think of various endings to the phrase: What would happen if…       You can imagine where that went.

My dear readers, did you know today is your lucky day?  To you will be revealed the first in an ongoing series on Green Thinking Blog that will delve into the hypothetical situations if certain not-so-eco-friendly items were never invented. 

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF PLASTIC BAGS WERE NEVER INVENTED?

Plastic bag patents date back to the 1950s, but it isn’t until the early 1980s that plastic bags were introduced and made a regular commodity at your local grocer.  These bags are made of polyethylene – which is derived from petroleum.

Oh, sure, paper bags were around for a long time previous, but before that – what did people do?  Think about it – there weren’t many transportation services, folks couldn’t and didn’t just galavant around town without a specific purpose, nor could they store many things at freezing or cold for a long period of time.  Food items spoiled quicker (kinda make you wonder why we can keep food for weeks at a time in this day and age…another post) 

So, how did they get all of their groceries from the store to their home?  They ordered them.  Everyone ordered them.  How do I know this? An extremely reliable source from the 1940s shared their insight with me on his job at a grocery store when he returned from the service.  In fact, it was a subject very near and dear to his heart. 

• Folks would call the store on their phone (if they had a phone) or they would establish a regular order.  
• The employee on the other end would have to listen,
• then write everything down,
• then take their hand written list and
• walk around the store to gather the items. 
• All the items were then placed in large metal baskets with two handles and loaded into the single delivery truck. 
• This truck would deliver Mr & Mrs Smith’s groceries, wait for the family to unpack them at their house and take the metal basket back to the store. They would then go to the Jone’s, the Kalleward’s, the Thomas’, and do the same thing.

Things to consider from this scenario:

1. No plastic bags – not a single one
2.  One delivery truck emitted into the air vs. several hundred thousand bagillions automobiles
3. Personal contact: Person on phone, listening to another person, person delivering something to their house – A pretty nice level of trust in mankind I would say.

Frankly, however, plastic bags were created.  They did come to our grocery stores, our clothing shops, our petstores, they have made life convenient and people dependable on forgetting things.  This particular convenience overflowed our landfills and our waterways.  So what are the implications?

It is estimated that nearly 100,000 marine animals alone die of plastic bag ingestion each year.  They mistake that killer bag for a tasty treat and suffocate themselves to death.   This would make sense since it is also estimated that 60-80% of marine debris is plastic in some form or another.  Heard of the Pacific Gyre, or Great Garbage Patch, or Floating Island of Yuck (the last one I invented)?  While its size estimates vary, there is no mistake that it is at least as large as the state of Texas, most people think twice that size, and others think it is as large as all of the United States!!!

Here you can share some knowledge by “trashing your friends.”

Why should you care if there is a big island comprised of the estimated 130 plastic bags each individual uses every year?  Because those bags have now entered your food. Delicious! Right? WRONG!  These bags are made of polyethylene – which is derived from petroleum, which you put in your car.

Not all marine animals die from suffocating themselves on those little ditties, but almost all marine life has some level of plastic floating in their stomach and right to your plate in some form or another.  The food chain gets us everytime.

Further,  one ton of plastic bags is equivalent to 11 barrels worth of oil energy.  That is a lot of energy wasted for not a lot of usage in the lifetime of a typical plastic baggie.

As you know, GTB is all about encouraging small steps at a time.  Just think before you head to the store  – grab a canvas tote, purchase a super cute foldable one for your purse, borrow a friend’s reusable bag.  To inspire you on this small step, take a look at people who did it big and reused or never used any kind of plastic hardly at all: Floatin’ to Make a Difference, and FakePlasticFish.com.

Already comfortable with bringing your bags to the store – good job! Now encourage your neighbors, and in the meantime, make sure any stray plastic bag you do see is brought to a recycling center (most grocery stores offer this now). 

Don’t forget, there are many common myths out there about alternative uses for plastic bags, ex. trash can liners, pooper scoopers – the problem there is that you do not want the garbage (or the poop) to stay in the plastic bags through the entire million year decomposition rate of the bag – you want it to decompose properly as it should.  Next time you bring a plastic bag on your doggie walk, think Petrified Poop.

additional resources for cute reusables and doggie-doo-doos: Biodegradable doggie bags, Eco-bags.com,

Tagged as: Animals, great garbage patch, pacific gyre, plastic bags, poop, reusable bags, What if...