China. The UK. Ireland. Germany. Australia. San Francisco. Malibu. The list of countries and cities eliminating or considering banning plastic bags continues to grow. Some prohibit them all together, while others charge a fee to carry away groceries in that plastic that often finds its way to landfills.
Along with the plastic bag bans and growing concern over their lack of decomposition, grocery and all-purpose stores like Wal-Mart have offered shoppers a new choice: eco-friendly bags that can be used over and over again. The bags are usually symbolically green and can be seen around the entrances of most major stores. You can also probably find even more eco bags in the accessories sections of stores, sporting earth-friendly phrases. I have one myself, from my mom, telling everyone to “give green a chance.”
This does imply that shoppers are switching over to the reusable bags (though I rarely do see anyone here in the United States refusing plastic in check-out lines or bringing his own).
But how I see it is that there is absolutely no need for the cheap green bags to replace plastic bags.
The point is to eliminate needless waste, right? To get items out of landfills and to reduce energy expended in their decomposition? But the green bags seem to do the opposite. Yes, in some cases shoppers are replacing their plastic bags with them. But stores are expending energy in making those eco friendly bags when, let’s be honest, we all have useless bags sitting around our houses and apartments that could work just as well.
Why buy an “eco friendly bag” when you can just bring an old backpack, gym bag or messenger bag from home? Is it really necessary to advertise that you are green with a new bag when an older bag would work just as well and not take extra energy to produce?
>> Read more about plastic bag bans at Green Options
I agree that plastic bags should be banned. My sink cabinet is practically exploding from all the useless bags that stores hand out quite willingly. But if we’re going to take that step, shouldn’t we just go all the way and reuse bags that we already have?
Photo Credit: Mspack at Flickr under a Creative Commons License
I live in Seattle – a city that is still considering a charge for disposable plastic bags used in retail shops – and I see people bringing their own bags to the supermarket all the time.
In my neighborhood, which is a mix of high income and low income, I shop at Albertsons (sort of a SafeWay/Super Value cross) and bring my own bags. I've started counting how many people are supplying their own and it's a fairly high percentage. Sometimes more than half the people in line have their own bags. There are almost always a couple who do.
It's becoming fashionable to have your own bags – not a chore if you have one that folds up nicely and fits into a purse, briefcase, or backpack.
Gail
Visit my bog at http://sections.whattheythink.com/environment/
For the facts about plastic bags and the environment as well as environmental shopping strategies, visit http://www.thetruthaboutplasticbags.com
I have to disagree! I live in Fort Collins CO and I often see shoppers bringing their own bags or refusing to use a bag!! I think the trend has taken hold much more than you’re giving it credit for..and although i hate to say it- big box stores have had a hand in it by offering these inexpensive alternatives.
http://www.TheBestBag.org
Lowest Carbon Footprint of any reusable bag!
If world governments would do the smart thing and legalize hemp, we could make green "plastic" bags, as well as paper to save trees, and many other products. The first car built by Henry Ford was partially made from hemp, and could run on hemp oil. The most important plant on this planet is illegal because oil and drug companies might not make as much money if hemp was legal and in wide use.
I use the re- useable shopping bags now and they are great. They allow you to pack things in so they are not crushed as badly and the cashiers are getting good at doing this. The bags hold lots, sit up straight in your car and hold more than the one timers. They can be bundled up into a small packet when you transport them to the store. I keep a couple in the car in case I forget them. There's no reason not to use them. If you haven't tried them yet, give it a try.
As for the authors suggestion of using old duffle bags and back packs you already own, you will see that they are no where near as good as the eco shopping bags.
Doug Ferguson
Toronto
Absolutely! I totally agree with you about reusing what we already have. In fact, I wrote about reusing plastic bags over a year ago:
http://www.fakeplasticfish.com/2007/08/be-careful…
Personally, I fit as much as I can into my backpack before pulling out another bag. I carry reused plastic bags with me as well as some newer Chico Bags, only because they are stronger and can be used when I simply don't have room left.
Here's a link to a woman who makes plastic bag carriers so that folks have a convenient way to carry reused plastic bags:
http://4u2reuse.com/AboutUs.htm
I wrote about her on my site. I wish more folks would think about using what they already have before buying the latest "green" product.