Green energy revolution and green life style will not only heal our world but also heal our international conflict and bring peace. Green technology will create new industrial revolution and create jobs and will bring back America’s Innovative leadership role. I know all these are not so easy but at least we should start thinking green and put aside the Red and Blue battle. So we will be able to adopt green life style.

We can express our green thought through green life style which does not necessarily require high tech. One of that ways is to use of Reusable Bags. We are addicted to Plastic bag. So we just never stop and think about how big damage we are creating to our world by using thousands of plastic bags every day. We do not need to sacrifice a lot and not need to invent technology to find how to make affordable Reusable Bags out of Cotton Cloth or Jute Burlap. I believe you will be agreeing with me about that. Reusable, Recyclable, Biodegradable bags made of Cotton Cloth or Jute Burlap for daily shopping purpose was very common before. We just suddenly became addicted of plastic bag.

So, America at least can start thinking green and adopting green life style in all 50 states immediately. That will give us the light to start empowering the green energy revolution.

The bag ban ordinance excludes some specific types of products or businesses. Plastic or paper bags are both accepted to use in retail clothing store and dry cleaner businesses.

Single use Paper bag is accepted for Convenience store, Restaurant, Pharmacy and Beverage sales.

Single use Plastic bag is accepted for cooked, chilled or frozen food sales.

The single use plastic and paper bag ban took place for any other businesses except the exceptions mentioned above. But plastic or paper bag would consider as a reusable bag if it meets some condition as follow.

A plastic bag will be considered as a reusable bag if the thickness of the bag is 4.0 mil and has a handle. So it will not consider as a banned item.

Also a Paper bag will be considered as a reusable bag if it is #65 in basis weight and has a handle.

The single use or non-reusable bag still will be available by paying an environmental fee of $1.00 per transaction. This fee shall be used towards environmental program, recycling and clean up initiatives. There will a fine up to $ 500 dollar for each violation.

Reusable Canvas Bag

Environmental consciousness is very strong now. Large number of people loves the idea of Reusable Bags. But still it is not widely used. The biodegradable Reusable Bags made of cotton are really inexpensive, very stylish and elegant. But the major problem is, normally we forget to bring our own Reusable Bags while shopping. We are driven by our long time habit. We go for shopping without any Reusable Bags with us.

More than 50 years ago was invented the Plastic bag. It is given for free in all stores. Sometime we throw it away even before getting in the car right after shopping. It just became a habit the use of plastic bag. So, easily we forget to bring our own Reusable Bags. The solution of this problem is very easy but very complex at the same time. It is easy, because there is no big economic deal. It is complex, because the habit change is not an easy task. So, I love it when I hear the phrase in some stores, “Did you bring your Reusable Bags” today?

Every human action is connected to its consequences. Especially since 20th century the world became too addicted in over acting with so called industrialization. This action has tortured too much to our planet. Also this industrialization created a bubble of base less fragile economy and modern life. We just forgot about the harmony between Mother Nature and modernization.

Our planet has everything for us to lead our life if we take care about our planet. Same as a mother always has everything to protect her child. Green Life means leading the life which has a harmony with the Mother Nature. Not in counter of the nature. In order to be over industrialized we have serious problems related to health, nutrition, over stress, Spiritual, happiness etc. Now in top of all we have food shortage in our robotic life. That happened because of anti green life.

Now the question comes again. How can we think about investing in Green Life and Green Bag, if we even can not afford to buy food? The answer is it will be worst if we do not break through this vicious cycle and reverse the life into Green. Green life will bring us back into base. And Green bag is part of a Green life.

Polypropylene

Is the word Going Green being used to make a real social and cultural change in favor of Green choice? I have doubt about this in most cases. Every company are labeling Green in their advertisement, trade shows etc. It just became a new tool to market any product.

Let see the Green Shopping bag or Green Grocery bag. Everybody is trying to stop using the Polythene bag. This is the right way to start on. One time use of Polythene bag should be a Crime. It is oil based material. It consumes lot of Energy to produce. But the uses of these bags are just to carry something from the store to home and dump it after that. Because of low cost we are getting addicted more and more in using these bags. But what happen after we dump it? It starts to release CO2 in the atmosphere for 1000 years. Scientists say Polythene is not biodegradable. It may never degrade or take 1000 years to degrade. So, thousands of ploy bag dumped everyday are accumulating. It is dangerous. So, stop using Poly bag and think about alternative is the first right step to take.

Polypropylene

But what alternative are we taking about? Most large companies are intending to put a Green label in the Polypropylene bag. They say it is reusable. But did they say that Polypropylene bags are exactly same as polythene bag in the method of producing and dumping after use? They did not mention that. They say it is Recyclable. Did they say how to recycle it? No, it is not possible to separate the Polypropylene from other material to recycle it. Also it costs very high the recycling process of polypropylene. So, what this mean? This is exactly same as the Polyethylene bag. They just want to keep making money at cost of our planet and humane life by labeling the Green Advertisements in the Polypropylene bag.

We should reject that immediately. And use a canvas bag or jute bag.

Now in USA most of local governments are in financial trouble. Also one of their main duties is to keep our city clean and manage our landfill. But still they are allowing us to keep generating single use plastic bag garbage and the government is borrowing money to function the cleaning service and hiding the plastic bag garbage. This plastic bag will not decompose in 1000 year. So we can say governments are hiding this plastic garbage somewhere. We can not call it cleaning. The magic solution is the local government can impose a Green Fee on Plastic Bag and use that money to fill the budget shortage. That will generate revenue but also will start reducing the so called single use plastic bag. Is it not a simple and magic solution?

But why our governments are not applying this into action? I do not know the answer. But I can guess some reasons. Do you guess any reason? I believe we voted to smart people to become our government body. But what reason is keeping them out of taking this kind of action? Please reply to my thought if you can guess any reason about why the government is not applying a Green Fee.

Thousands of Polypropylene bags are already handed to innocent green minded people by adopting the idea of “Reusable Bags”. These polypropylene bags are just another plastic and made out of petroleum based material. It is recyclable but the cost of recycling is much higher than making a new bag. So, the word recyclable is just a tag to market Anti-Green product.

Reusable bags must be biodegradable material as Cotton, Jute, and Hemp etc. But also should be very cost effective to replace the free Plastic bags. Cotton is the most cost effective among other biodegradable material. But organic cotton is very expensive and regular cotton farming consumes lot of pesticide. But still any cotton is biodegradable and should be considered as Green Reusable bag. Also there is environment friendly cotton available. It is known as IPM-FFS cotton. This cotton farming is done through a program to reduce the use of pesticide.

Thanks to all green minded people for their green revolution. But please be careful to not become a victim of adopting non green products such as Reusable Bags made of non biodegradable material. All Reusable bags for regular shopping purpose should be made of biodegradable material as cotton.

AmeriGreenBag.com

Use of Reusable Bags or Green Bags in America is growing. But is this in the right path to achieve its purpose? I think not yet. Reusable Bags for general shopping purpose must be Biodegradable too. We can not divert our attention from its ultimate goal. The goal should be to not create pressure on landfill and not use petroleum based material to make the Reusable Bags for general purpose shopping.

Lot of Polypropylene or non woven bags are spreading like a Virus in the name of Green solution. Polypropylene is just another plastic. It is not biodegradable. It is made out of Petroleum based material. It is Recyclable but the cost to recycle is too high. And consume lot of Energy to recycle it. It will never be recycled like many other materials are not recycled. So it is just a green washing slogan to market the product and divert our attention from the Green Revolution.

Many large corporations are introducing these Polypropylene bags. They are promoting these bags massively. But the saddest part of the history is they are getting attention from media and making more noise about Reusable bags as their marketing tool with green label. But not offering any real biodegradable bag. Their goal is to include another China made profitable product like Polypropylene bag in their store by the cost of our planet. Single use plastic bag was introduced to our planet in the same way by the same type of powerful companies.

The real Reusable Bags or Green Bags should be made of biodegradable material like Cotton, Jute or Hemp etc. Does it cost more than the Polypropylene? I do not think so. But the problem is you can not mark up too much profit on your cost if you want to sale cloth bags at affordable price.

In fact the supermarkets can get a great advertisement by selling cotton made Reusable Bags with their logo printed. That works as moving billboard for their business. Also the government action in taxing on plastic bags could bring in place the Reusable Bags immediately. But the problem is our local and state governments are afraid of lobbies.

But for the Green minded people and for our planet it means more than that. Once the supermarkets starts taking action in having cotton made Reusable Shopping Bags for resale to their customers, the real green revolution began there and the replacement of plastic bag become a reality.

But the biggest problem is the supermarkets are too slow in taking action. They are not thinking and planning ahead of time to get good wholesale prices for cotton made Reusable Shopping Bags. Many of them do not plan the future and not looking into this matter with enough attention. So they are missing the opportunity for themselves and not helping our planet.