Ikea Bags the Plastic Bag

Just three months ago, Ikea implemented the "Bag the Plastic Bag" program here in the U.S. Talk about a radical, "green initiative." Ikea is the first retailer to address the plastic-bag issue in our country.

Ikea now charges customers 5 cents for using plastic bags. In addition, Ikea sells reusable bags for 59 cents as an alternative to using plastic bags. (Wow, what a bargain!)

All proceeds from the bag program are donated to American Forests. This is a non-profit organization whose goal is to plant 33,100 trees each year to offset carbon emissions produced by folks driving to and from Ikea stores.

Is this a small step? Absolutely. Is it worth all the trouble? I think so. Anything we can do to reduce our dependency on non-renewable resources is certainly worth the effort. (Remember: Plastic bags are made from polyethelyne, which is orginally made from crude oil and natural gas.) So provided we each do our small part, collectively, we can make a big difference.