If disposed of incorrectly, single use plastic bags end up polluting our nature and take hundreds of years to degrade, but they are estimated to be used for an estimated "average of 12 minutes each" only. In order to reduce such waste, New Zealand implemented a decision to ban single use plastic bags a year ago. Since then, an approximate 1.1 billion bags were removed out of the system in a year according to the Ministry of Environment's waste director. This is proof that one simple action of taking our own reusable bags when shopping can have a substantially positive impact on the larger scheme of things!
Have you jumped on the reusable bag wagon yet?