Here’s something to ponder …Taiwan, South Africa, Italy, Australia and Bangladesh heavily tax or ban the use of plastic bags. In Ireland, a 20 cent tax on plastic bags introduced in 2002 has all but eliminated their use. And the latest country to declare war on “white pollution” is China where the bags will be banned in June.

San Francisco and Oakland, California put a stop to the use of plastic bags last year and the city of Philadelphia and the New Jersey State Assembly have introduced bills that would ban plastic bags at supermarkets and pharmacies. We applaud these moves, but shouldn’t we be doing more?

As Americans, we consume an estimated 100 billion plastic bags each year. After a single use, these bags are discarded with only 3% of the bags getting recycled. Plastic bags littering our landfills are not biodegradable but rather go through a process called photodegradation which means that they break down into smaller and smaller toxic particles that contaminate both soil and water and eventually end up entering the food chain.

To put these staggering statistics into perspective, check out Seattle-based artist Chris Jordan’s mind-blowing work entitled “Plastic Bags, 2007”. Jordan understands how statistics can feel abstract and anesthetizing but, through his lens, he sheds light on our disposable society. View Jordan’s amazing collection.