photo © 2007 Zainub Razvi , Flickr | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Recently in Seattle Washington a city ordinance was passed which bans the use of single use plastic bags.  In other words, if you go to the grocery store to purchase food in Seattle (and other cities) you will not be given a plastic bag to carry it out.  Plastic bags are banned.  I personally think that this is a great law and a wonderful idea.  This is something that Christ-followers ought to applaud and take to the next level in their personal choices.  Consider these stats:

• 500 billion: Number of plastic bags consumed worldwide every year (1 million per minute)
• 500: Years it takes a plastic bag to decay in landfill
• 4.175 million: “Average” person’s plastic-bag legacy, in years (Source: USA Today)

So why is this a good idea?  According to NPR, the new law (which goes into effect place in July 2012) will have some great results:

The ban is expected to reduce pollution, free up landfill space and improve the environment. Seattle’s residents use 292 million plastic bags and 68 million paper bags a year. About 82 percent of paper bags are recycled, while only 13 percent of plastic bags are recycled.

In my own life, I’ve chosen to use cloth bags when shopping.  On the days when I forget, I carry my stuff out to the car without a bag… and sometimes this can be quite the juggling act!  But, if we are going to treat this world, God’s good world, in a way that reflects the intentions of the Creator, then we ought to be willing to make small gestures of this sort.  Small acts can  become a drastic movement for change.

In his final book called The Radical Disciple, the late John Stott says this: Continue Reading…