Plastic bags be gone

There is an interesting article in Newsweek on plastic consumption. Give it a read. What frightened me the most was the statistic that North Americans and Europeans are projected to use 308 pounds of plastic per year by 2015.

Now, I am realistic enough to know that we will always have plastic in I think our lives. Think of all the uses the stuff has in medical equipment, etc. I think the key is to get to amount down in our day-to-day lives (think plastic bags and wrapping). Last week, my husband and I ran to Macy's to pick up a pair of jeans for him. I stuck one of those cloth bags into my purse and when the cashier when to grab a plastic bag I quickly whipped out my more environmentally sustainable one. I use them all the time at the grocery store but I had yet to use one in a retail store. From now on I will be using the cloth bag wherever I go, be it Barnes and Noble, CVS, or Ann Taylor.

I would like to know what percentage of that soon-to-be 308 pounds of plastic per year comes from plastic bags? If we all could get away from using them, maybe we could go a long way towards beginning to lower that frightening statistic.