The Problem With Using Reusable Bags

In the last few years plastic bags are have been branded as major culprits of environmental pollutants, and have been declared as environmental hazards. On the one hand plastic bags are being distributed by the dozen at no charge to the consumer, while on the other hand, are being used indiscriminately by those same consumers. Moreover, plastic bags are rarely reused, and are usually simply thrown away after their first and only use.
In the US alone, almost every person uses approximately 2 bags per day, which may not sound like a lot at first, but amounts to more than 700 bags per year per person. Numbers that high aren't even affected if slashed in half or even by a third.
One problem with plastic bags is that they are made of petrochemicals, a nonrenewable resource. But the major problem is that they never break down. They might fall apart, or break into smaller pieces, but it literally takes hundreds and sometimes thousands of years before plastic degrades. Conventional plastic bags are not readily biodegradable under any normal circumstance. That being said, plastic bags are usually not disposed of properly and represent a major hazard to wildlife. Tens of thousands of whales, birds, seals and turtles are killed every year from bag litter in the marine environment often mistaking plastic bags for food. These bags, once ingested, cannot be digested or passed by an animal so it stays in their digestive tract, preventing food digestion and ultimately leading to a very slow and painful death.