"American shoppers use an estimated 102 billion plastic shopping bags each year — more than 500 per consumer. Named by Guinness World Records as 'the most ubiquitous consumer item in the world,' the ultrathin bags have become a leading source of pollution worldwide. They litter the world's beaches, clog city sewers, contribute to floods in developing countries and fuel a massive flow of plastic waste that is killing wildlife from sea turtles to camels. 'The plastic bag has come to represent the collective sins of the age of plastic,' says Susan Freinkel, author of Plastic: A Toxic Love Story."

Kitt Doucette reports for Rolling Stone July 25, 2011. [2]