It’s official. May 4th has come and gone which means plastic bags are now banned from any store in New Jersey, Maine, Delaware, California, Vermont, Connecticut, New York, and Oregon. Many are frustrated with the new law, finding themselves forgetting their reusable bags and/or are being inconvenienced by having to put paid stickers on every item, but some people have actually been wanting the bag ban to happen. 

A lot of people who want to save the earth will be happy about this. However, people may be asking the following questions: “What bags am I supposed to use?” or “ If I don’t have any bags, where can I get some?” or “What types of bags are reusable?” If you’re going shopping, you can use recycled paper bags, cloth bags, or any other reusable bags you have lying around your house, as long as they’re not plastic. Plastic bags were banned from stores because they are harmful to the environment and by reusing your own bags, you are helping out the environment. In total, Americans use up to 100 billion plastic bags a year. That is a lot of plastic to clog the earth’s landfills and oceans. 

We all should know that plastic is bad for the environment, especially if we don’t get rid of it or recycle the plastic properly. As of right now, there are about 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic in the ocean. Sea creatures are mistaking plastic for food, and because of this, a lot of them are dying. Even if the fish don’t die from plastic, there are still people fishing, which means that people are eating plastic, too, if they eat the fish. I don’t think I need to tell people that plastic is bad for humans.  Plastic also can cause pollution if you don’t get rid of it properly. Pollution is litter and gas that can go into the air and make it hard to breathe.

With plastic bags being banned from stores, it helps us make the earth just a little bit better. The fewer bags we use, the fewer can go into the ocean or cause pollution. Let’s be honest, after you were done using the plastic bag from the store you threw it out in the garbage and probably did not recycle it. We could all stand to do a little better for our Earth, so grab your reusable bags and keep them in your trunk for the next time you go shopping!