Plastic soup

It's amazing what you learn when you attend an eco fair. Recently, while setting up our ebode stall at the Waitakere Eco Day in early March, I started chatting with a fellow 3 x 1 metre stall holder accross the isle who was promoting biodegradable 'plastic' products. Did you know that there are shopping bags made from cornstarch available to purchase by our grocery store chains that could totally irradicate the need for the plastic ones? Yep, and they're available now. Why the big food-chains have yet to grasp the urgency around the need to stop using plastic bags is beyond me given their environmental impact. Is it an urban green myth that the mid-Pacific ocean is one huge washing machine rotating hundreds of thousands of fish choking bags in a 'plastic soup'? Sounds horrific. They can take between "400 and 1000 years to break down, and their constituent chemicals remain in the environment long after that. Made from crude oil, natural gas and other petrochemical derivatives, an estimated 12 million barrels of oil are used to make the bags the US consumes each year." (http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/235707/In-US-plastic-shopping-bag-still-rules). The average American family of four throws away about 1500 bags a year, and as much as we'd like to think that our consumption rates are somehow different in New Zealand, there are some strong paralells.

In California, the city of San Francisco has banned the use of plastic grocery store bags altogether, as has most of Europe, Africa and Asia. We seem to be behind the curve as a nation on this issue. Waitakere City's Mayor, Bob Harvey wants the city to be the first in New Zealand to become plastic bag-free. I've decided to take the plunge and buy my own corstarch versions. When I rock up to the local grocer I'll be able to whip out my own biodegradable, compostable bags. It may not change the world, but it's a step in the right direction.

If you're interested in learning more, here are some good places to start:

http://www.edengreennz.com/CornstarchStore.html
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/waitakere-takes-aim-plastic-bags-2539427