Plastic bags vs. paper bags.

I went to school in the late 80s and all throughout the 90s.  Going to school next to a beach allowed us to be more environmentally conscious than most.

What I remember most was my school's stance on bags. You think plastic bags? Nope. Paper bags.  We were told, specifically, that paper bags were very bad. It takes 100, 200, no 1000 trees to make one paper bag (which we know isn't true). Our teachers told us if the grocery store cashier gives us the choice between paper and plastic bags, we must always choose plastic. Because we don't want to be tree killers! 

Now everyone here still uses plastic bags because it literally has been lectured to us all throughout elementary school.  It's difficult to convince people to use cloth/reusable bags because we were taught to use plastic bags at school, and what we were taught can't be wrong, can it? So I feel like we brought this upon ourselves.

Now we have to recognize our mistake of using plastic bags. Specifically, one-use plastic bags that get thrown away soon after. It is not our fault. Don't feel guilty about this.  We were taught to do this by adults we trusted.  Now that we know better, we can make more informed choices. I use reusable bags every time I go to the store. I have a valet trash service, which is required by my neighborhood and I use a large trash bag for that. Other than that, I really don't use plastic bags anymore.

Many stores, such as Publix, Walmart, and Target will take any soft plastic, including bags, as recycling. So if you need to take a bag, you can always recycle it.