Give up plastic bags for Lent (Shorter bulletin versions below)
Plastic Pollution
The Earth is one interconnected, living, breathing organism. What’s healthy for you is healthy for the environment and this includes reducing single-use plastics. Have you noticed how more and more plastic has crept into our lives? You can hardly buy anything that isn’t packaged in plastic. Most glass bottles and jars have been changed to plastic. Plastic items come wrapped in more plastic. Toothpaste, which used to come in a metal tube now comes in plastic tubes. Everything from grapes to furniture is wrapped I plastic. Yes, it’s convenient in the moment, but it’s polluting our earth and it never goes away. It goes to the landfill, but never decomposes. It’s made of petroleum and it’s full of chemicals, which leach into our soil and water, plus animals are eating it and dying. I am trying to make better consumer choices and looking for items that are not packaged in plastic. I have stopped buying liquid hand soap and now only buy bars of soap, a simple solution for one item, but not all are so easy. Reducing your use of single use plastic bags is the easiest place to start lessening your plastic consumption. I just counted 17 “free” reusable bags in my car. I have chosen to refuse plastic bags because they are a waste of our resources and they are generally used once (for an average of 12 minutes) and thrown away. Only about 3% get recycled and it actually costs more to make new bags out of recycled ones than to just make brand new bags. The EPA statistics state that over 95% of all HDPE plastic bags end up in our landfills or the environment. Every ocean has a plastic gyre that is killing birds, fish, turtles and other sea creatures. Dead sea creatures that have washed ashore, often are found to be full of plastic trash. Plastic bags float through the air and if they don’t get caught in brush or trees they end up in a waterway that leads to larger bodies of water, like the Gulf of Mexico. Our Earth, The Kingdom of God, is being polluted every day. I would like to encourage you to start refusing plastic bags, if you haven’t already. It’s a matter of training yourself and forming a new habit. I’m proof that it can be done. I try to always have a cloth bag with me and if I get caught without one I just carry my purchases without a bag. When you know how plastic is polluting our home, it’s time to be responsible and do the most you can. With the season of Lent upon us, think about giving up plastic bags for Lent. By the end of the season, you will have formed a new healthy habit!
Shorter bulletin version
Make a pledge for Lent to help the Earth – – – The Earth is one interconnected, living, breathing organism. What’s healthy for you is healthy for the environment and this includes reducing single-use plastics. Our earth, where we strive to honor Jesus’ vision of the realm of God, is being polluted every day. I would like to encourage you to start refusing plastic bags. It’s a matter of forming a new habit. When you know about plastic pollution, it’s time to be responsible and do what you can. With the season of Lent upon us, think about giving up plastic bags for Lent. By the end of the season, you will have formed a new healthy habit!
Even shorter
For your Lenten discipline: Refuse plastic bags. Carry your own fabric bag. “Grannies for a Livable Future” – 100grannies.org