Beginning today (Oct. 21), plastic bags no longer will be distributed at Bag It and Grab It to reduce the amount of plastic waste the university produces.
According to theworldcounts.com, plastic only starts to degrade after 700 years in the landfill and only fully degrades after 1,000 years. This means that all of the plastic that has ever been produced has not even started to degrade yet. Furthermore, plastic remains toxic even after it breaks down. It doesn’t biodegrade, it photo-degrades. Meaning that after it degrades, it breaks down into smaller and smaller toxic bits of itself, contaminating the environment.
Grab It and Bag It, Student Sustainability Council, Bon Appetit Management Co. and Access Services worked together eliminate plastic bags and provide students with their own reusable ones.
Students should keep their eye out Student Sustainability Council members distributing these bags over the next few weeks.
Those who would like a bag also can email gimmeabag@case.edu.