O P I N I O N
THE SOAPBOX
Stand up. Speak up. It’s your turn.
Earth Week is an annual reminder that we depend on a healthy planet. Here’s an easy Earth-friendly action you can take year-round: Bring your own bags when you go shopping.
New Hampshire grocery stores distribute millions of single-use plastic bags annually, with a bag used for 12 minutes persisting up to 1,000 years in our environment. We don’t know how to get rid of them! Less than 9% are actually recycled. The remaining 91% break down into “microplastics” we cannot remove from waterways, farms, forests, landfills, plants, animals or human bodies. Studies show microplastics in our lungs, liver, heart and brain increase our chance of dementia, heart attack, stroke or death. NH’s Green Mountain Conservation scientists found microplastics in well-water, backyard snow, and every river and stream sampled since 2022.
Our tourist economy depends on natural beauty. Discarded plastic bags detract from our scenic landscapes and harm our wildlife. When single-use plastic bags are eliminated from landfills, waste management costs significantly decrease, saving money for towns and taxpayers. One recycling facility computed the cost of unclogging bags from machinery as $114,000 annually.
NH lawmakers are considering legislation to deal with plastic pollution. Nationwide 12 states and over 500 municipalities have a plastic bag ordinance in effect. Please add your name to a petition circulating statewide, requesting NH grocers stop offering free single-use plastic bags at the checkout. Sign the petition at bit.ly/noPLASTICbags . Next shopping trip, bring along a cardboard box or reusable bag. Think how much we’ll save!
Susan Richman is a founding member of NH Network for Environment, Energy and Climate. As a member of the Network’s Plastic Working Group she is active in the campaign to reduce single use plastics. After 32 years she retired from teaching in NH’s public schools, as a first grade teacher and later as a reading specialist.
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