12 Minutes to Blight

On average, a disposable bag has a useful life of 12 minutes, from the store to your home, to the trash. Nationwide fewer than 5% of single-use plastic bags are recycled, leading to the ubiquitous "plastic tumbleweed" that chokes sewer systems, farm equipment, and marine life.

According to a recent study, single-use plastic bags comprise as much as 50% of the trash littering streams in the suburbs of Washington, DC, and their effects downstream are widely reported.

This year Washington, DC, became the first city in the nation to charge 5 cents for single-use plastic and paper bags, in an effort to cut down on the volume of bags littering local waterways. The fee also generates the Anacostia River Cleanup and Protection Fund, which will pay for additional trash-control measures as well as free reusable bags for those in need. In mere weeks, the city saw bag use drop by as much as 80%. Volunteers at river cleanups are reporting as many as 50% fewer bags collected.