Canvas the Neighborhood for Public Health
Convenience
stores, drug stores, super centers, and grocery stores are all phasing out
plastic bags in favor of re-usable, canvas shopping bags. Publix advertises
that use of re-usable bags is “shopping smarter.” Pointing out that not only is
using canvas bags an environmental effort but is actually more convenient and
money saving which is why we placed our sticker on this canvas bag!
Reduced
costs for stores, through eliminating purchase of plastic bags, are ultimately
passed on to the consumer by reductions in food costs. Lowered food costs allow
consumers to purchase the more expensive food options they may normally for-go,
such as fruit! Eating healthy is highly advocated by the public health
community and can be a preventative measure for many diseases, including
diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.
Grabbing
those re-usable bags not only reduces cost, it also reduces solid waste. The
more canvas bags used, the fewer plastic bags get thrown away. Polyethylene,
plastic, bags take 1000 years to degrade in a landfill, and we need worry even
more about those that never make it to the landfill; ending up in drainage or
wrapped around animal’s neck. In fact, Bangladesh banned the use of plastic
bags in 2002 because of their contribution to flooding after found caught in
drainage pipes. Flooding is not only a public health risk itself but also contributes
to the spread of infectious diseases through the unclean water.
Increased
use of re-usable bags also lowers the production of polyethylene bags reducing
the release of harmful chemicals, including the polyethylene itself which
studies are showing is a carcinogen. And this release of chemicals only leads
to one the world’s top sources of litter!
Aimee Binder
Michelle Dzung
Samantha Justice
Works cited:
(2002, May. 8). Planet
Earth's New Nemesis?. BBC News Retrieved Jan. 24, 2012, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1974750.stm.
I think the introduction of reusable bags are definitely a great Public Health measure and has so many extended positive contributions to communities worldwide who institute these measures. Healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables are definitely expensive and it is great to know that as consumers, if we use reusable bags, we can inversely decrease the amount we spend on healthier food choices. It was also amazing to see an international view with the example of Bangladesh banning plastic bags. I can definitely see how the overuse of plastic bags can contribute to destruction as it takes so long to breakdown. I was also amazed at the link between plastic bag usage and carcinogens. Wow! I'm sure we will all look at plastic bags a little differently now! Great job guys! Very informative..
ReplyDeleteI grew up in a developing country and I personally saw and experience the detrimental effects of plastics to the environment. Excessive use and improper disposal of plastic bags cause both environmental and health damages; it causes unseasonal floods, contamination of groundwater and soil, air pollution, kidney and liver diseases, malaria, and cholera. It’s an excellent business decision for Publix to encourage consumers to purchase reusable low cost canvas bags. This action does not just promote the image of their company but also it educates the community about the importance and benefits of recycling; which in the long run can help and improve the population’s health and wellbeing. When more people are informed about the use of these bags and the importance of recycling, the environmental and health damages mentioned above can be avoided and diminished.
ReplyDeleteKudos to the re-usable shopping bag!!! I think that this was a great point to touch on because it helps make the world a cleaner place! The benefits are not only that canvas is a cleaner and more efficient way to go about producing grocery carrying devices, but it also sticks it to the man by eliminating the harmful poisonous vapors that are produced by manufacturing polyethelyne bags. So, from a person who likes to breathe clean air and not poison gas (because it's not very pleasant) I give praise to the CANVAS GROCERY DEVICE!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent idea. I think that most people do not realize how extensive the benefits of eliminating plastic bags are. Their costs greatly outweigh their benefits. Plastic waste is a serious problem that affects all aspects of civilized life. Less plastic bags mean less demand to produce them, which translates into less demand for energy producing them, which then results in less pollution emissions. There is less energy used to produce and transport them. Less pollution equals cleaner air and water. After they get used for all of fifteen minutes driving from the store home, they end up in a landfill, and continue to pollute our natural resources, encroach on the resources of wildlife and reduce their habitat. Reducing the habitat of wildlife, and in turn of wildlife itself, brings it back to us full circle and limits our own natural resources. These natural resources could provide means for battling diseases or providing us with an effective filter of organic waste, which, again, in turn create healthier living conditions for us. On a last note, when plastic does degrade, it carries with it the inherent chance of degrading into toxic compounds that can cause harmful mutations to human tissue.
ReplyDeleteI agree with promoting the use of canvas bags at grocery stores instead of commonly used plastic bags because it promotes public health in a variety of ways. The most important reason, which you all mentioned, was the idea that canvas bags will actually cut costs in the long run; ultimately benefiting consumers. I also really like how you mentioned that by diminishing the production of plastic bags, there are both environmental and health benefits.
ReplyDelete