In this video, Kelsey Rae and Steve Linder discuss the importance of reducing plastic bag consumption.

Fast Facts

• It takes 1,000 YEARS for a plastic bag to decompose in a landfill.
• Americans go through 88 BILLION plastic bags per year.
• The manufacturing of these bags requires 12 MILLION barrels of oil.
• Only 1-2 PERCENT of all plastic bags are recycled in the U.S.

So What?

Kelsey gets real fired up about plastic bags because they are unnecessary waste that hurts our environment on so many levels. Not only are we contributing to the burning of fossil fuels that leads to global warming, but we’re also increasing our dependency on foreign oil and all the fossil fuels burned just to transport the oil to our shores. Plastic bag production also requires the use of toxic chemicals like sulphurous acid that creates acid rain and water pollution.

Aside from all that, the UN estimates there are 46,000 pieces of plastic litter floating in every square mile of ocean. Thousands of marine animals and over 1 million birds die each year through strangulation or accidental ingestion of this trash.
What Can You Do?

• Use reusable cloth shopping bags always. (Don’t forget them at home or in the car!)
• Tell the cashier you don’t need a bag when you have just 1-2 small items.
• Reuse your plastic bags as trash bin liners, to bag up cat litter or for lunch bags.
• If you do have any plastic bags at home, recycle them to make new bags.
• Give reusable shopping bags to friends and family for Christmas gifts.
• Share creative activist independent films like Ramin Bahrani’s “Plastic Bag.”
• Consider organizing massive plastic bag recycling events or initiatives in your area.

Join Vocal Trash's movement to
“THINK…before you throw it away!”

Vocal Trash is a troupe of environmental entertainers who have been engaging audiences with their unique and exciting brand of entertainment for a decade from New York to Seattle. Whether in Madison Square Garden or the Venetian Hotel and Casino, Vocal Trash is environmentally conscious using upcycled materials on stage. The group asks that you "THINK… before you throw it away!"