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Our Country
The damaging use of plastic bags is seen throughout our country.  At least ten states either have state-wide bans or have placed a fee on plastic bags.
Our State
Here in Wisconsin, several communities have addressed the plastic bag problem; however, no legislation has been passed to restrict the use of plastic bags. 
 
Our World
The excessive use of plastic bags is a global problem that we can address locally. At least 28 countries either ban or place a fee on plastic bags.

Bring Your Bag Wisconsin

is a coalition of concerned citizens in diverse communities in Wisconsin whose goal is to educate the public about using reusable bags instead of single-use plastic bags. 

Please be patient with us as we continue to improve and update this site. We'll keep adding  and organizing resources, articles, and information.

Be sure to check back! 

What You Can Do to Help Reduce Plastic Bag Pollution

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  • Take your own reusable bag whenever you go shopping.

  • Refuse plastic bags from stores and cut back on your own use of bags.

  • Learn more about the effects of discarded bags and the environmental cost of discarded plastic bags.

  • Talk to your families and friends about the reasons to avoid single-use bags.

  • Talk to retail stores where you shop about your support for reducing their free distribution of plastic bags for purchases. Ask them to give bags away only on request and/or charge for them.

  • Talk to your local government about the need to reduce the use of throw-away plastic bags in your community through community education and advocacy.

  • Coordinate with other people who care about the environment, wildlife, safe water, and nonrenewable resources to organize educational and legislative efforts in your community.

In this country, we use an estimated 190,000 disposable bags per second, requiring the use of 12 million barrels of oil each year. 

It is estimated that each American uses an average of approximately 500 plastic bags each year. Why should something that we’re going to use for a short time use a material that lasts hundreds of years?

  
An estimated 32% of all plastic produced--nine million tons!--escapes collection and ends up in the ocean each year.


Over 100,000 sea mammals and 1 million seabirds die each year from ingesting or getting tangled in long-lasting discarded seaborne plastic.

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Facts About the Use of Plastic Bags

  1. Most plastic bags never completely decompose.  They are not biodegradable because bacteria will not eat them.  They do disintegrate when exposed to sunlight, but they only break into small particles.

  2. According to recent EPA statistics, only 4.3% of HDPE plastic (the type used to make plastic grocery bags) is recycled in this country, while the rest of the 100 billion plastic bags we take home from stores every year become litter or go to landfills.

  3. Plastic bag litter is so ubiquitous that the Irish have been known to call the plastic bag their “national flag” and South Africans have dubbed it their “national flower.”

  4. Plastic bags and other plastic garbage that lands in the ocean kill an estimated 1 billion seabirds and marine animals per year, often by choking to death or having plastic wrapped around their intestines.

  5. Plastic debris acts like a sponge for toxic chemicals.  When tiny particles from disintegrated plastic bags are ingested along with plankton by filter feeding marine animals, these toxic chemicals (like PCBs and DDE) are passed up the food chain, including up to humans.

  6. Plastic bags are typically made from petroleum, a nonrenewable resource.  The amount of petroleum used to make only 14 plastic bags would fuel a car for a mile.

  7. We make a difference when we refuse a bag for small purchases.

  8. We make a difference when we bring our reusable bags instead of taking dozens of disposable bags.

  9. We make a difference when we use plastic bags only when no other option is available.

  10. We make a difference when we responsibly manage plastic bags by making it a priority to reduce, reuse, recycle and properly dispose of them, using alternative bags to the maximum extent possible.

10 Good Reasons to Bring Your Bag

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