Reusable Produce BagPlastic bags take anywhere from 15 to 1000 years to decompose. Only 1% of plastic bags are recycled in the United States (the rest end up in a landfill or the ocean). It is estimated that 1 million birds and thousands of turtles and other sea animals die each year from ingesting plastic bags. BUT one person using reusable bags over their lifetime removes 22,000 plastic bags from the environment.