Recycled Plastic Bags by CraftyKathi: August 2007

The Plastic Bag...

Ahh, the plastic bag. Where once it was a choice at the grocery store has now become the way we carry home our groceries. Can you count how many you have used? 100's maybe 1,000's of plastic bags? You can reuse some of them by lining the trash can, picking up after the dog, lunch bag, and to carry misc. items but what about the other 100-1,000's of bags? Do you recycle them at your local grocery store? If so, where do they go? DO they get recycled? I read (at reusablebags.com) that 1-3% of the bags get recycled. Many of the bags from recycling bins do not get recycled. SOOO...what to do?

One summer my grandmother (who lives in FL) came to NH to visit our family. She had learned a new craft and wanted to share it with us. We each received a large bag. She had gathered about 73 plastic bags, cut them, strung them together and crocheted them into a reusable bag. I BEGGED her to show me and I have been crocheting plastic bags ever since. Friends and family save their plastic bags and I go to the local grocery stores (there are 6 of them) and gather plastic bags there as well. I recycle about 5,000 plastic bags a year making hundreds of products. They are quite strong and sturdy. I have carried home fruit and veggies in mine from the store. Every time I use one large bag I am reusing about 73 plastic bags!

Please consider my site the next time you need a unique gift that will not only be a big hit but be good for the environment as well. I have several colors and sizes to choose from (check out my slide show below for some examples).

Craftykathi.etsy.com

Kathi

Recycled Plastic Bags by CraftyKathi

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Check out my Slide Show!

So many bags...so little time!