let’s start this off with some stats (courtesy of here):

• Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide. That comes out to over one million per minute. Billions end up as litter each year.
• According to the EPA, over 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps are consumed in the U.S. each year.
• According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually. (Estimated cost to retailers is $4 billion.)
• Plastic bags don’t biodegrade, they photodegrade-breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and entering the food web when animals accidentally ingest.

for a bunch more on evil plastic bags follow the above link.

i recently bought a brand new, envirosax, animal planet, reusable shopping bag. i lost my other fold up-able bag, and find those grocery store bags a bit of a nuisance to carry around. here she is:

i dig the bird. you can find a whole bunch here. mine was about $8 cdn.

so, i was trotting around with my new bag, which was holding some brand new glass tupperware, feeling pretty enviro conscious right then, but i started thinking. my nice new polyester envirosax bag felt…new…it didn’t feel recycled, didn’t seem like they’d reused anything in the making. so, just HOW good was my new reusable shopping bag if it was made from new, man-made materials?

and in comes the FAQ page for envirosax. there they explain why they use virgin polyester: the recycling process for polyester is extremely harmful for the environment, and recycling polyester actually diminishes the quality, leading to reusable bags that don’t last very long, adding to the bag problem. that the ink used in printing is all eco-friendly and recycled where it can be. that the paper used in backing the printing is recycled and turned into cardboard for the shipping of the bags. oh, how i could go on.

recycled post-consumer waste bags would be ideal, i think. but envirosax goes on to explain that the availability for this product is insufficient for the demand. there are companies  (in china, they name) who turn to creating water bottles for the soul purpose of recycling them (having never been used).

i’m beginning to ramble, so i’ll reel myself in. envirosax are a fantastic alternative to plastic bags and fold up to the size of a bar of soap. i’ve been using mine since i bought it, and am very satisified by the answers the FAQ section of their website provided to my questions. though, ideally, i’d be buying a recycled bag, this is nearly as good. since toronto has just passed a bylaw making plastic bags 5 cents each, i’ll be using this baby until it falls apart in my hands.

make sure you remember YOUR reusable bag the next time you go out. let me know what other brands you’ve bought bags from.

what i want to know is, how organic are you? i’ve been enjoying a local organic micro-brew, mill street, recently. but when asked by my younger sister, “what makes it organic?” i began thinking…well…i’m not sure. i’d think the hops were grown without exposure to toxins. but, where does your malt come from?! is it free of toxins? so with mind reeling, i googled mill street brewery.

under original organic, mill street boasts, “ontario’s first CERTIFIED organic lager was born in 2002 from a sense of purpose and a passion for craft beer. we adhere to rules that guarantee both the raw materials and brewing process are pesticide- and herbicide-free. brewed with imported malt and hops, this 4.2% german pilsner offers a light, crisp and refreshing flavour with a clean finish.”

well that cleared my conscience, and has given me an answer to my kid sister’s question.

we’re bombarded every day by “organic” this and “natural” that. you have to watch out, for very few of these “organic” products actually adhere to the aforementioned rules. there are organic certifications, and i’d say, that only those products bearing the seal or sticker, can be trusted. make sure you’re questioning always–but, that’s sort of my advice on life.

my alcoholic recommendation for the week/end is the mill street organic. i believe it’s only on tap, so have a night out at your local pub and just think, you’re sort of being a localvore (that is if you’re drinking it in toronto)!