Plastic, plastic EVERYWHERE. Even in the Philippines, it is said that roughly 20.6 billion pieces of plastic bags were used every year! It has become apparent that we grew dependent on using these plastic bags, but is it worth enough that we endanger our environment?

There are a lot of reasons that we must consider using reusable bags and other reusable products. Firstly, plastic bags are the main cause of plastic pollution as it takes years to decompose- resulting in massive plastic build-ups. These plastic build-ups then continue to cause complications such as water pollution, leakage of toxic chemicals, flash floods, soil degradation, and the death of animals. It's not new that single-use plastics like water bottles and plastic shopping bags are crowding landfills and endangering wildlife. Meanwhile, reusable bags reduce the impact of plastic bags on the environment since it is made from renewable resources that helps prevent the build-up of greenhouse gases. When a reusable bag is made from materials like jute, cotton or bamboo, the environment reaps the benefits. You can use your cloth shopping bags for years and never throw them away. When they get dirty, it is simple to wash them and keep on using them. This way it helps reduce the amount of single-use plastic being used and inadvertently discarded into the environment.

Although it may be hard to avoid using plastic bags at first, we must keep in mind that this is for the greater good. There is no shortcut in making things possible, and as plastic is taking action in slowly eating our planet, we must also take a step forward. We as the caretakers of this modern society have the responsibility to contribute to saving our environment. We must make an effort to do the smart choice, rather than the easier one. Always remember plastic bags are not better than reusable bags.