APRIL 2020 ● VOL. 6 ● NO. 8 EDITION 4

People are investing in the planet by switching to reusable bags. COSTTO STORESPER PLASTICBAG: April 2020 April or unsustainable, says Kate Kate says unsustainable, or On March 1, a signat a grocery store City in New York announces that plastic bagswill nolonger be COSTOF PLASTICBAG: PRODUCINGA Surprised? You shouldn’t be. If this shouldn’t You Surprised? IT’S ABOUTIT’S SUSTAINABILITY are things every use day we The sustainable campaigner. plastics a Greenpeace Melges, harm the don’t items Sustainable environment. such items, Unsustainable With bans on most single-use plastic With most single-use on bans plastic bags, customers consider greener options. afternoon. You’re Friday It’s Imagine this: for snacks out picking the groceryat store out check to go You marathon. a movie you start Then to ready bagging. and get And bags. plastic any aren’t realize there each. are 5¢ bags paper may. soon it hasn’t yet, you to happened and states cities the environment, help To the countryaround are single- banning most California was first. bags. plastic use cities major and 10 states seven About also laws. passed have NEW RULES paperused that and bags are available for a fee.

FOTOGRAFIABASICA/GETTY IMAGES 2 KATRINA WITTKAMP 3

—By Rebecca Cohen : done so not as cause to COST OF PAYING A COSTPAYING OF A PIECE OF LITTER: OF PIECE A WORKER TO PICK UP UP TO PICK WORKER in yourself—and in the : the amount of money or adjective noun

investment Power Words Power investment investment time put into a project sustainable permanent damage Try to reuse the plastic bags you have. They They have. you bags Try the plastic reuse to money. can also sustainably save Buying and cups. Meanwhile, there are things there individual Meanwhile, and cups. the problem. solve help can to do people make trash-can and Ask doggy good bags. liners the kind you of bottle instead water a reusable for a use lunch, packing And if you’re throw away. containers. and reusable bag lunch cloth charge stores City, York In New it: Think about a week, bags five use If you bag. paper per 5¢ five buy If you a year. $13 or a week, 25¢ that’s be you’ll instead, each $1 for bags reusable making an the time. same at planet Many shoppers are choosing bring to their own reusable cloth bags to COSTOF BUYING GROCERYSTORE: A PAPER BAG AT A BAG AT PAPER A

REUSABLE BAGS REUSABLE stores.

EDUARDO MUNOZ ALVAREZ—GETTY IMAGES COSTOF RECYCLINGA PLASTICBAG:

Disposing of the bags is a problem. According According a problem. is the bags of Disposing

items, such as single-use water bottles, straws, bottles, straws, water as single-use such items, FIXING THE PROBLEM PROBLEM THE FIXING plastic bans on other see to hopes Melges Kate and materials packaging in the ocean than fish. mistake them for jellyfish and eat them. By 2050, 2050, By them. jellyfish and eat mistake for them bags plastic be more could experts there say some Streams carryStreams the oceans. to turtles them Sea take 10 to 20 years to decompose (see “Making a (see decompose to years 20 to take 10 the environment. into blow Others 4). page Swap,” are thrown away and end up in landfills. up and end are They thrown away to Waste Management, only 1% are recycled. Most Most are recycled. 1% only Management, Waste to the glaciers to melt and sea levels to rise. to levels and sea melt to the glaciers contribute to the greenhouse gases that are causing gases that are causing the greenhouse to contribute comes from petroleum, a fossil fuel. Fossil fuels fuels Fossil fuel. a fossil petroleum, from comes THE LIFE OF A PLASTIC OF LIFE THE BAG This polyethylene. of out are made bags Plastic do damage, both in the way they’re made and in made damage, they’re bothdo in the way them. of rid get we the way 100 billion plastic bags a year. That many bags can many bags That a year. bags plastic billion 100 as plastic bags, do. The United States uses uses States United The do. bags, as plastic

COSTTO STORESPER PLASTICBAG: On March 1, a sign at a grocery store City in New York announcesthat plastic bagswill nolonger be NEW RULES paperused that and bags are available for a fee. MAKING A SWAP Family Challenge Many of the items people LOOK AROUND After reading use every day are not the suggested swaps on this sustainable. Things page, take a look around such as plastic water your home. What other items bottles and paper could you swap for more towels are used sustainable options? Discuss them with your family. only once before they’re thrown away. Switching to greener options can save people money and save the planet, too. Check out the chart below to see just how much money people save with each swap.

TIME IN COST OF ITEM COST OF MONEY SAVED ITEM LANDFILL REPLACE WITH . . . PER DAY REUSABLE ITEM PER YEAR Plastic Reusable water 450 years $1.45 $10 $519.25 water bottle bottle

Brown paper Reusable

2–6 weeks 12¢ $6.99 $36.81 IMAGES PHOTON/GETTY IMAGES; XACTO/GETTY IMAGES; KIMURA—GETTY _ T LEFT: FROM lunch bag lunch bag Rags or Paper towels 2–4 weeks microfiber 50¢ $0 $182.50 cleaning cloths

Zippable Reusable 10–20 years 3¢ $5.69 $5.26 bags containers

Styrofoam May never Glasses or cups 4¢ $0 $14.60 cup decompose from home Digital Newspaper 6 weeks newspaper $1.40 33¢ $390.55 subscription

4 April 2020 Please recycle this magazine.