“The Plastic Bag” directed by Ramin Bahrani, this 18-minute film chronicling the life of a plastic bag, and questions the environmental impact of consumerism in a world that treats it like trash. “The Plastic Bag” has been screened at many film festivals, and was commissioned by the Independent Television Service through a project in which 11 filmmakers were asked to examine issues in the United States and dramatize the potential consequences. The series includes another environmentally themed film called “Seed,” about a future in which genetically modified seeds dominate the world and organic seeds are illegal.

Of course plastic bags don’t have to be modern tumbleweeds. Besides being easy to recycle there are several interesting projects one can do with them including making your own messenger bag or crochet as in the image at left. Apropos, San Francisco’s bag ban is being reviewed in court.

And then there’s the equally problematic cousin of the bag, the plastic bottle…