plastic bags do you think one American family uses in a year?
Plastic bags are used for an average of 12 minutes each.
Plastic bags are usually made of polyethylene, a non-biodegradable plastic created from non-renewable crude oil and natural gas. The fossil fuels needed to produce just 14 plastic bags could drive a car for a mile.
Only about 12 percent of plastic bags, sacks and wraps get recycled, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The rest end up in landfills or as litter on the streets, or in the oceans.
An average American family uses 1,500 plastic bags every year, according to statistics provided by the Natural Resources Defense Council.