Redplum

Monday, March 21, 2011

How ELSE Do We Use Oil?

Think gas and oil prices are too high? Did you know that it takes 1 cup of crude oil to produce the plastic in one disposable diaper? Or that 12 million barrels of oil are used each year to produce plastic shopping bags? The higher the demand for crude oil, the higher prices OPEC sets. Consider using cloth diapers and reuseable shopping bags. It's better for the environment and reduces our dependency on fuel from an unstable Middle East. You might even save some money, too!

A $300 investment in cloth diapers, when used from birth to potty training, can prevent approximately $3000 in disposable diaper purchases AND it keeps the diapers out of our landfills.

Reuseable shopping bags typically cost the consumer money.  The "free" plastic bag that your purchase is put in at the checkout counter costs the retailer money. By not requiring plastic bags for your purchases, you are reducing the need for the crude to make the bag, the resources used to transport the bag to the store, and keeping costs down for the retailer (because let's face it - they can't stay in business if they don't pass their costs along to their customers), not to mention the reduced cost of disposal once these bags enter the waste stream. Some retailers even give you a discount when you bring your own reuseable bag. Target discounts 5 cents off your purchase for each reuseable bag you use when making a purchase.

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