I was doing some surfing for information on reusable shopping bags when I came across the handy site ReusableBags.com with a startling statistic at the top of the page: so far this year we've used over 300 billion plastic shopping bags.  That's just so far in the first 8 months of this year, we've still got 4 months to go and 4 months where we can commit to making one change: stop using disposable shopping bags!

The average person uses 330 - 900 plastic grocery bags a year, depending on where you live.  The US alone uses 100 billion shopping bags plus an additional 280 billion plastic sacks and wraps each year.

Doing you part to reduce your plastic footprint is easy:

1) Buy (or make) some reusable shopping bags and use them regularly.  Keep one in your car just in case you forget them at home.

2) Cut down on plastic waste by using reusable waterbottles, sandwich and storage containers.

3) Check your local curbside recycling program web site or recycling depot and see if they accept plastic bags.  Then hunt down all the ones you've accumulated in your house and recycle them.

For more great ideas and facts on plastic bags, hit the jump.

» ReusableBags.com