A recent national survey determined that 72% of the American public doesn't know that the raw material for plastic bags comes from fossil fuels. In fact many of today's conventional plastic products are made from petroleum products including oil. Plastics are in every part of our lives, from bags and water bottles to fabrics and packaging. 

This hidden oil may in fact be harder to replace than the gasoline we put in our cars. Renowned environmentalist David Suzuki has noted that we should consider oil a precious resource like gold or diamonds and it should be priced like a precious resource. Accurate pricing for oil should take into account the full costs of development, production, transportation and disposal. If oil was $100 or $200 a barrel the economy would shift quickly to finding alternatives.

While some communities work towards banning plastic bags  you don't have to wait for your town to catch up. There are things you can do now to replace plastic around the home.

•  Carry a reusable bag with you whenever you go shoppnig
  
•  Recycle as much as possible to reduce the need for garbage bags
  
•  Use a composter or vermi-composter for vegetable and organic waste
•  Use old newspapers to line your garbage can or wrap up messy waste
•  Check out Seventh Generation recycled bags for when you really need a disposable bag