When taking steps to help the environment, little things count. In fact, when we take them together, the Little Steps add up to Big Changes.

How many of us have a stash of plastic shopping bags under our kitchen sinks… up in the linen closet… in a cubby by the front door? We hang on to them just in case we can reuse them at some point. But we can only hang onto a certain number of them before the excess bags make their way into the trash can, and then to the curb, and finally to the landfill where they remain for eons.

Suppose everyone uses ten plastic shopping bags per week, or roughly 500 bags per year. With about 8,000 people in Monona, plastic bag use for our city would be 4,000,000 bags. Four million bags in one year!

It takes as much petroleum to make 14 plastic bags as it does to drive a car one mile. So Monona’s four million bags are equivalent to about 28,500 miles of driving — more miles than the entire circumference of the earth.

Manufacturing paper bags takes more energy than manufacturing plastic bags. Using paper bags contributes to deforestation, as well. So the ideal answer to ”Paper or plastic?” is ”Neither.”

The Little Step challenge posed to you today is to start using cloth bags when you shop. Once you get into the habit, cloth bags are a marked improvement over disposable bags, especially if you’ve ever had the handle of a bag break while toting a glass jar of salsa, or a bag’s bottom rip open as you’re negotiating the back door.

There are two parts to this Little Step: one, locating a good bag; and two, using the bag habitually.

A shopping bag needs to be sturdy, properly sized for your needs, and easy to clean. In other words, you need to give it a bit of thought. Canvas bags are sturdy, but can become stiff and wrinkled if accidentally tossed in the dryer. Net bags can be wadded up and/or tossed in a purse. A purchase from the local craft store, my denim bag holds as many groceries as five plastic bags, is durable, and comes out of the wash like new. It might end up like grandma’s winter coat — used until it wears away into nothing.

There are Chico Bags, Eco-Bags, and you can make your own bags. Options abound.

Once you have the proper bags, the trick is remembering to take them with you. Try these suggestions or come up with your own tricks.

  • After unpacking your purchases, hang the bags on the doorknob of the door you use when you leave to go shopping. Then, if you shop by car, take your bags to the car the next time you go out. If you shop by bike, put them in your bicycle bag.
  • Slide the bags over your coat’s hanger, and grab them when you pull on your coat.
  • Put your keys, purse, or wallet inside a bag. You won’t leave home without those, so it’s highly unlikely you’ll leave without the bag.
  • Engage your children by putting them ”in charge” of bringing the bags. This can make your children proud to be ”caretakers for the earth.”

Using cloth bags is a Little Step. It turns out to not be too difficult and has some great benefits. But looking at the big picture — the possibility of not using four million plastic bags in Monona — it can be a Big Change if we take this Little Step together.