Natural Environment Blog

China has officially released its new standards for plastic bags. The standards, which will be implemented in June, are an attempt to help eliminate the devastating impact that plastic bags are having on the environment.

The new standards prevent supermarkets and other retailers from handing out colorized plastic bags. These bags are usually made from wasted plastics, which pollute the environment.

The standards also ban plastic bags less than 0.025 millimeters thick. The theory behind this is that, by having thicker bags, people are more likely to reuse their plastic bags. Many bags in China are currently only 0.001 to 0.020 millimeters thick.

As encouraging as it is to hear this news, it would be better if China could encourage larger eco-friendly shopping bags - such as reusable jute bags. Reusable bags like these can hold much more than plastic bags, and they can last for many years.

I recently read this article from Dallas News about the reactions from some checkout operators when customers bring their own reusable bags.

Here’s how some of the checkout operators reacted when the customer refused plastic bags:

Case 1:

When I plopped my cloth bags onto the counter and asked the cashier to use them instead of the plastic, he looked at me as if I weren’t speaking English. After a pause, he reluctantly put a few items in my bag. Then he stopped bagging my items altogether. So I did it.

Case 2 (customer put items straight back into the trolley):

The cashiers at the Tom Thumb by my house have been thinking I was nuts for years now.

Case 3:

I have to be sure to hand my bags over before the scanning starts or the baggers will start stuffing things into their plastic bags.

I suppose it’s something I never really think about anymore - how the checkout staff will react when I present my reusable bag. I’ve been using reusable bags for 4 or 5 years now, and I can’t think of one instance where the checkout operator didn’t know what to do.

I admit that I can relate to case 3. I’ve learned to place my reusable bag on the conveyor belt in front of my groceries. Otherwise the checkout operator will start placing my groceries straight into a plastic bag. This is to be expected though - if I don’t present a reusable bag how can I expect the checkout operator to know that I have one?

I suspect this checkout experience is different for each country, and even in different states within those countries. The Australian government has been discouraging plastic bags and encouraging reusable bags for many years. They even introduced the “green bag” which is sold at most, if not all, supermarkets.

The green bag resulted from a campaign in 2003 to discourage retailers from giving away plastic bags.

So, it appears that if nothing else, the government campaign from 2003 has instilled an awareness in Australian checkout operators, so that they know what to do when someone presents them with a resuable bag.

Further to my article about eco-friendly shopping bags, here’s a list of six websites that offer reusable/eco-friendly shopping bags.

By using any of these reusable bags instead of plastic bags or paper bags, you will be doing your bit to reduce the devastating impact of plastic/paper bags on the natural environment.

Here’s the list:

• GreenHemp.com - Provides hemp shopping bags and other hemp products.
• JuteBags.com - Jute carry bags and various jute products.
• ReusableBags.com - Various reusable shopping bags and other bags etc.
• FairGoTrading.com.au - Hemp bags and packs.
• CleangreenBags.com - Various reusable grocery bags.
  
• Amazon.com - View the search results for reusable shopping bags.

Note that you may need to check some of these sites for availability/deliveries in your area.

Purchasing a reusable bag has more benefits than you might realize.

First of all, reusable bags are usually much larger than the plastic bags or paper bags that supermarkets supply you with - you don’t need as many.

Secondly, every time you reuse your bag, think how many plastic bags you’re preventing from entering the environment. I’ve been using the same reusable bag for years and it feels great every time I do my shopping!

Plastic bags are particularly nasty to our oceans and marine life. Read about the environmental impact of plastic bags on our oceans.

According to KentOnline, group of British school children have created a campaign to persuade the Queen to stop using plastic bags.

The children have also targeted British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, as well as their local MP.

I’m not aware of the above peoples’ stance on the plastic bag debate - whether they still use them or not. Also, according to the article:

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said she could not disclose the Queen’s private thoughts on the matter at this stage…

In any case, it’s great to see 9 and 10 year olds supporting their local Ban the Bag campaign, and being proactive about getting the message out.

Source: KentOnline

According to the Khaleej Times, supermarket stores in the United Arab Emirates may soon be plastic bag free.

Some stores in Sharjah have already agreed to use biodegradable plastic bags, and now many supermarkets in the UAE are also looking for alternatives to normal plastic bags.

The LuLu supermarket chain has indicated that they are looking for alternatives to plastic bags. Although they haven’t yet decided on their preferred option, they will decide by May. They are keen on the idea of Jute bags.

If you’re like most people I know, you’ve got scores of unused plastic bags stuffed away in a kitchen drawer or cupboard. Wouldn’t it be great if you could somehow turn these into reusable bags?

Well, depending on where you live, that’s exactly what you can do. Many local governments around the world have created a plastic bag exchange program.

A plastic bag exchange program is where you take all your unused plastic bags and exchange them for a reusable bag, usually made from a natural fiber such as jute or calico. Most programs involve community members swapping either 10 or 20 plastic bags for one reusable bag.

Here are some examples of local governments around the world who have initiated a plastic bag exchange program:

• Sydney City Council (Australia) - In 2004, the City of Sydney undertook a 2 month plastic bag exchange to coincide with World Environment Day 2004. Residents could exchange 20 plastic bags for one calico bag.
• Hobsons Bay City Council (Australia) - The Hobsons Bay City Council gave residents one reusable bag for every 10 plastic bags.
• Brimbank City Council (Australia) - Council gave residents one reusable bag for every 10 plastic bags during the exchange period.
• Westchester County (US) - Department of Environmental Facilities are holding a two day plastic bag exchange program as I write this! Residents will receive a free reusable bag for every 20 plastic bags they bring in.
• Plano (US) - As part of Plano’s “citywide cleanup”, residents can exchange plastic bags for free reusable bags.

And, it’s not only governments that are initiating plastic bag exchange programs. According to this article, Grass Shoots intend to set up a “plastic bag amnesty” where residents can get a free reusable bag made from jute or cotton.

Many of these programs run for short periods of time, so keep an eye out to see if your local council intends to run a plastic bag exchange program. Or even better, suggest it to your council!

A couple of months ago I wrote an article on paper bags vs plastic bags. The general conclusion was that both were almost as bad as each other. Plastic did edge out paper by a small margin, but this all depends on how you measure it.

MSNC has created a cool little website called Battle of the Bags: Paper vs Plastic. This is an interactive website providing a great overview of the issue. Again, the general consensus is that paper and plastic are just as bad as each other and it’s much better to get yourself a reusable bag. But the site does provide some useful tips for those occasions when you forget your reusable bag.

In the UK and other countries, Calico is a fabric made from unbleached cotton. The cotton is typically not fully processed. In the US, this is the same fabric that is referred to as muslin.

In the US, calico usually refers to a printed cotton fabric with an over pattern.

Calico is sometimes used as an eco friendly alternative for products typically made from other sources. In particular, calico bags are often used as a more environmentally friendly alternative to plastic bags.

For example in 2004, as part of World Environment Day, the Sydney city council ran a “Bag the Bag” campaign to encourage people to use calico bags instead of their plastic shopping bags. The idea behind the campaign was that residents would exchange 20 plastic bags for 1 calico bag. Over the 2 months, residents exchanged over 15,000 plastic bags for calico bags.

To see what calico bags can look like, Cottonbags, an Australian company, displays some calico bags on their website.

If you’ve read some of my other articles, you might know that I’m a huge advocate of reusable shopping bags. Reusable shopping bags allow you to use the same bag over and over again, usually for years, before allowing it to decompose quickly and naturally.

If you’re trying to eliminate plastic shopping bags from your life, you too can start using reusable shopping bags (if you haven’t already done so).

More Alternatives

As good as reusable shopping bags are, they aren’t the only alternative. After all, there are many ways of carrying stuff!

Here are some examples:

• Use a shopping basket
• Backpack - Stuff your groceries into your backpack, then ride your bike or walk if practical
• Bring your own trolley
• Throw your shopping into a box

BBC News asked readers what their preferred option was for carrying groceries and other shopping. It’s great to see that some people really are doing their bit to eliminate plastic bag usage. Here’s what the readers had to say.

The UK prime minister, Gordon Brown has been threatening to force supermarkets and retailers to stop using plastic bags if they don’t do so voluntarily.

As it turns out, the UK government has itself been just as guilty of polluting the environment with plastic bags.

The UK conservative party has revealed that the UK government has bought more than 1,200,000 plastic bags over the last 2 years. These plastic bags are typically used in promotional campaigns by the government’s marketing arm - Central Office of Information (COI).

The 1.2 million plastic bags represents over £91,536 of tax payers’ money.

In response to the conservative party’s findings, the COI say this:

We already advise our clients to consider alternatives such as hemp but as part of this initiative the purchase of plastic bags will be phased out with immediate effect.

I presume that this translates into “we/our clients will stop using plastic bags immediately”.