Imagine, driving, or riding, or whatever your shopping cart to the grocery store, detach the bike and wheel the cart into the store. Once at the checkout, no need for bags: just load the groceries into the cart, attach it to your bike and voila, a bagless shopping trip.

Of course, if you live in anything but a ground floor apartment it may not work so well, unless, of course, your building has an elevator. In any case, this just may have market potential.

Reuben Miller

Image source: Idealist

Green Endeavors is a Boulder, Colorado-based non-profit run by two women, Doreen Molk and Carly Gralak, who hope to make an impact on environmental awareness. The co-founders are working free of commission to provide a reusable bag to as many shoppers as possible. Their goal is to remove the requirement of making the choice between paper or plastic. To them the third option, neither, needs to be an obvious and widespread option. Doreen explains, “Every time a shopper chooses paper or plastic they have to make the wrong choice, but are not even offered the right one. We just want so make sure that people know of the third option!"

If we all changed the habitual declaration of our paper or plastic preference to cloth or “I brought my own," we would collectively save 4 billion dollars and 14 million trees from the industry of shopping bag production. The cofounders of Green Endeavors are not out to make a profit from this practice; they simply want to give every household the opportunity to make responsible choices. The way their organization works at the present: send an email with your order for cloth bags to greenendeavors@gmail.com. Each bag costs a wee $2.50. (That is a pretty darn good deal compared to the $800 fashion shopping bag.) You can also check out their site for upcoming events where the two of them will personally (and happily) sell you a bag.

Scientists debate over how long a single plastic bag will take to decompose but let's just put it this way- if you swallowed a supermarket plastic bag at birth, it would still be the most solid material remaining in your coffin after your body breaks down. That doesn’t seem right…or fair. Polyethylene, the most common shopping bag material, is a man-made polymer that microorganisms simply don’t recognize as food; therefore, nothing wants to break it down, so it sits in our landfill (or body) indefinitely. Paper bags will break down, but they are still disposable. The responsible option is to opt for the cloth bag that can be used over and over and over and over…

So on this date of 7 ELEVEN, when you go into that convenience store, don’t let your soda get packaged in a small polyethylene bag that will outlive the complex composition known as your body. Stuff it in your purse, in your pocket, or your Green Endeavors shopping tote (and recycle the bottle, too!).

Green Endeavors
Slate: Will My Plastic Bag Still Be Here in 2057?
Kicking the Habit: Plastic Bags
Tip o' the Day: Paper or Plastic? Bring Your Own!

We're always talking about bringing your own bag, and avoiding plastic bags at all costs - but this is (quite literally) a low-hanging fruit. Just cut out the bag all together. Let's start a Banana Bag Ban - the BBB will unite to educate others one the uselessness of bagging those bananas.

Rebecca says: I'd really like to know if you are in the habit of bagging bananas. I grew up this way, but have had to teach each of my roommates over the years that the bag is unnecessary. I can't really find stats on the topic (strange, I know), but imagine how many plastic produce bags would be saved if we all stopped bagging our bananas. Sounds naughty.

Send me your tips! I want to hear what you have to say!

Lawmakers in New York City are taking notice. Radio station WNYC reports that the topic was discussed at Friday's city council hearing. Council member Michael McMahon, chair of the sanitation committee, will draft legislation to enact a similar ban in NYC.

Recycle This, a Brooklyn activist group, received word that New York State assembly member Bill Colton plans to introduce legislation to ban petroleum based plastic bags from large supermarkets.

And New York State Senator Jim Alesi also wants to push the state in a similar direction by eliminating the use of plastic bags by 2012.

But this isn't just a US concern. Uganda's parliament has recently called for a ban on plastic bags, citing health and environmental concerns for the country.

Hong Kong is considering implementing a tax of 50 HK cents for every plastic bag (about .06 USD) ordered by major supermarkets, which is expected to be passed on to the consumer making shoppers pay extra for each bag.

And municipalities in British Columbia are asking local businesses to take voluntary measures at reducing the need for plastic bags.

More than likely any legislation proposed in the US will mirror the San Francisco ban. However, just by replacing one product with another won't necessarily change consumer behavior when it comes the petroleum based nuisance. People will be just as likely (and will perhaps even feel better about) using more of the alternatives, which may aleviate some of the environmental concerns but won't be likely to eliminate the rubbish problem. The only way to get rid of the need for bags altogether is if consumers change their habits and bring a bag for their purchases.

It's March 2, and just sixty-one days into 2007, Reusablebags.com estimates that over 82.7 billion bags have been used so far this year. Other countries are doing better than the US on this, with several large chains in Europe and Asia now charging for plastic bags, or giving incentives and discounts to those who bring their own.

In fact, IKEA recently announced that its US stores will begin charging 5 cents for each plastic bag, beginning March 15. They are hoping to cut their contribution of 70 million plastic bags in the US to half in the first year, eventually phasing them out. To help with this, IKEA's reusable bags will be discounted from 99 cents to 59 cents.

Beat them to the punch and start bringing your own bags everywhere. Often, we have lots of worthy reusable bags hanging around the house. However, sometimes it is nice to have special bags just for your groceries. When looking, you'll probably have lots of options. You'll want to weigh what works better for you be it nylon, organic cotton, or hemp. Stay away from vinyl bags (we don't like that toxic material) and regular canvas (conventional cotton - lots of pesticides).

Like to wear your heart on your sleeve? Consider also picking up a Plastic Bags Blow organic tee from Reusablebags.com. Its the softest t-shirt we've ever had and it comes with a bonus: This shirt keeps you honest. Try going to the grocery store in your "bring your own bag" shirt and asking for plastic bags.

Once you've got your bags and your mind in the right place, all you need to do is remember to bring them with you. If you walk, you might want to look for a super compact bag and keep it in your pocket or purse. Also always keep some by the front door. If you drive, toss them in your trunk and they'll always be there when you need them.

Rebecca says: I've been on the BYOBag journey for about six months now. I have four hemp bags plus some cloth produce bags, so that I don't use those clear bags for the veggies, either. I have also started switching to larger purses, to give me a place to stash random items I might purchase when walking around on the weekends. Overall, it's been a good experience. Sometimes you'll meet people that are so impressed with you and you'll feel very proud. Other times you'll meet people that want nothing to do with your bags, or will bag something in plastic and then put the plastic bag into your reusable one. Read one of my random experiences here.

Still not convinced about the age old paper vs. plastic, with the solution being NEITHER?

Reusablebags.com Paper vs Plastic

EPA New England: Paper or Plastic

Additional resources:

Bring Your Own

Bring Your Own Blog

Green Options Tip o' the Day: BYOB (Bottle, that is)

Got a tip for Rebecca? Share it…

Its become something of a crusade of mine to eliminate plastic shopping bags from my life. The first and most important way to crush the scourge of the plastic bags is to bring your own bags. Canvas bags of all sizes, colors, and configurations are available commercially, and at your local thrift store. There are also convenient folding models available that will stash very small somewhere. Many people attempt to sew their own, which would be a good way of ensuring humane labor (your own), and sustainable fabrics.

It's vital to keep a supply of durable bags in the car– it is even more vital to remember to bring them into the store, however! And furthermore, because you will inevitably forget to bring them in, you must have a willingness to run out to your car to fetch the bags before (or after) checking out.

Sometimes, for whatever reason, I don't have my canvas bags around. These times are when one must be the most vigilant. The people dispensing plastic bags at stores are truly passionate about their cause. They really want you to take home your goods in a plastic bag! "Oh, no bag please," you'll say at first. Then you'll see them reach for a bag anyway. "Please, I don't want any plastic bags," you must insist. And then finally, when they make that last deseperate attempt to foist a bag upon you, you must grab your items and walk away. Quizzical looks inevitably will follow, but you can walk proud in the knowledge that you just introduced one fewer plastic shopping bag into our world.

One final note: when you do get broadsided with a plastic bag affront, and you end up with them in your home, do not fret. They can easily fill a number of uses. We've ceased purchasing any garbage bags, just using plastic shopping bags now. I wrap my home-made bread in them (which is nice because it lets the bread breathe), pack my lunches in them, even use them as a cutting board in a pinch. I keep a small stash of them in my car to reuse them, and also to collect garbage.

We must end the tyranny of plastic shopping bags in our world– if we don't use them or accept them, they will no longer exist!

external link: Stop Plastic Bags

One blogger writes: I'm positively addicted to ziploc bags. Sometimes I have big ziploc bags filled with lots of little ziploc bags filled with related things…You never know when you might need one or ten." Another says, "And if you aren't addicted to Ziploc Bags yet, be warned. You will be eventually."

It's easy to get used to convenience, but there are greener solutions that are just as easy. To get started, go cold turkey. Simply stop purchasing the bags. Instead, store items such as food in reusable containers. The lids close tight to keep food fresh, and can keep you even more organized than baggies ever did.

Rebecca says: There is life after little plastic bags…addicts will survive. I should know: I used to be one of them. My new addiction? Pyrex containers. It’s a step in the right direction!