Natural Environment Blog

With all the problems plastic bags are causing to the natural environment, it’s little wonder there’s an abundance of alternatives hitting the market. Although biodegradable plastic bags have been around for a while now, many people still don’t know they exist.

Let’s look at the two main types of biodegradable plastic bags.

Biodegradable Plastic Bags

Typically, biodegradable plastic bags are made from farmed products like cornstarch, which break down into elements like carbon dioxide, water and methane. They don’t just decompose automatically though - they need the right conditions to decompose.

To decompose properly, a biodegradable plastic bag should be composted. It should not be sent to landfill, as it may contribute to methane emissions. To meet international standards, a biodegradable plastic bag should compost within 12 weeks, then fully biodegrade within 6 months.

Degradable Plastic Bags

Degradable plastic bags decompose due to a chemical additive to oxygen, light or heat and are best suited to landfill. Degradable bags are also referred to as “oxo degradable” bags.

Degradable plastic bags will usually break down automatically. This could range between anywhere from 3 months to 18 months after manufacture, or even longer.

So… Are They Eco Friendly?

On the face of it, biodegradable and degradable plastic bags seem like a good concept. They can be used just like any other plastic bag, then when the time is right, they decompose - possibly within 6 months (or 18 months for oxo degradable bags).

While it’s not hard to argue that these bags are much better than traditional plastic bags (which can take up to 1,000 years to fully decompose), many environmental organizations argue that biodegradable plastic bags still don’t go far enough in saving the planet, and I tend to agree.

Even if a plastic bag does biodegrade within 5 - 6 months, that’s still plenty of time for it to cause serious issues. A biodegradable plastic bag can still end up in the ocean where it can kill it’s wildlife. When a plastic bag begins to suffocate a baby dolphin, that dolphin will die within minutes. The fact that the bag will decompose within 6 months means nothing - it’s already too late.

Also, given the fact that up to 1 trillion plastic bags are being used on our planet every year, this is still a problem. Even if only say, 1% of plastic bags end up in our oceans, that still a lot of plastic bags. Every one of these can kill regardless of their biodegradable properties.

So, while these bags are better than traditional plastic bags, there are much more eco friendly bags around.

In my post How “Eco Friendly” is your Grocery Bag?, I suggested looking for an eco friendly grocery bag. In particular, I suggested looking for a bag that is made from natural fibers, is large, and can be reused over many years.

In this post, I will look at some of the options when it comes to eco friendly grocery bags.

Eco friendly bags come in a wide range of different materials. Here are some eco friendly bags available on the current market:

• Hemp bags
• Calico bags
• Jute bags
• Hessian bags
• Biodegradable starch based bags
• Polyester bags
• Biodegradable plastic bags
• Degradable plastic bags
• Paper bags
• “Green bags”, such as the one’s introduced at supermarkets in Australia. Note that these are typically made from polypropylene so they’re not really eco-friendly. But they are re-usable and hold more than a typical plastic bag.

These eco friendly bags have varying levels of “eco friendliness”, but are typically regarded as being much better than their traditional plastic bag alternative (with the possible exception of paper bags). Despite paper bags having a more eco friendly image, studies show paper bags are less eco friendly than plastic bags.

While some of the above don’t decompose properly (i.e. polypropylene, paper), others are made from natural fibers and decompose very easily. Biodegradable plastic bags are best suited to composting (as opposed to landfill). Degradable bags on the other hand, are well suited to landfill. They basically self destruct after a given period of time - say 18 months.

The Benefits of Hemp

Hemp is a perfect choice for an eco friendly grocery bag. Hemp is a natural fiber and is very durable.

In fact, it’s the longest, strongest most durable natural fiber known to mankind. Also, Hemp can be grown in 2 months and does not require herbicides or pesticides.

Although eco friendly grocery bags can be more expensive than other types, you get a lot more use out of them. For example, a hemp grocery bag could cost you say, $8 - $10, but it will last you many years.

Another Option - Banana Leaves

You could always take a bunch of banana leaves to the supermarket with you. In fact, that’s what the Ugandan government is asking it’s people to do. In Uganda, banana leaves is the traditional method for carrying goods, and now that plastic bags have been banned there, banana leaves are back.

Most of us are pretty well aware that plastic grocery bags are a big “no no” when it comes to helping the environment. And more people are realizing that paper bags are not much better.

So, if we shouldn’t use plastic bags or paper bags to do our shopping, what should we use?

That probably depends on who you talk to. I think you’ll be off to a good start if you can find a bag that’s:

• Eco friendly (environmentally friendly)
• Reusable
• Large

Although they are reusable, plastic bags aren’t eco friendly. They’re not very big either, which means you need to use more of them.

Paper bags are actually worse than plastic bags when it comes to the environment. Yes, they can be reused. And they are usually larger than plastic bags, but the damage they do to the environment makes them a much less attractive option.

Best Eco Friendly Bags?

Eco friendly grocery bags are those that have a minimum impact on the natural environment. This means in both the construction of the bag, as well as the disposal of the bag.

So, here are some of the things I would look for in an eco friendly bag:

• Requires less energy to be made than other bags
• Fully biodegradable (preferably can fully decompose within 6 months or less - inline with international standards such as EN 13432)
• Preferably made from a natural fiber (such as hemp, jute etc)
• Durable enough to be reused many times (say, more than 2 - 3 years under normal use)
• Large enough to not need too many of them

My post, Eco Friendly Grocery Bags, suggests some good product types to look for.

Larger Bags are Better

Another benefit of many eco-friendly grocery bags is that they are usually much larger than the typical plastic bag. Therefore, you can fit more groceries into them - you need less bags. Less bags means less energy to construct them and less bags to biodegrade.

Benefits of Reusable Grocery Bags

Even if you can’t find an eco friendly bag, you should get a grocery bag that you can reuse over and over again. If you can reuse your grocery bag for 2 or 3 years, then think of all the energy being saved. Every time you reuse your grocery bag, that’s one less bag that has to be produced.

For example, if you reuse your grocery bag over 3 years, and do your grocery shopping say, 4 times per week, that’s 624 less bags that have to be produced. If you use 2 grocery bags each time, that’s 1,248 less bags being produced. And that’s assuming the non-reusable bag is the same size. Most plastic grocery bags are much smaller than their eco-friendly/reusable counterparts (such as green bags, hemp bags, jute bags etc).

Summary

As with most things man-made, it’s hard finding anything that doesn’t have some level of impact on the environment. Bags made from natural fibers are usually best. And look for a bag you can reuse over and over again - for more than 2 or 3 years. That’s a lot of groceries that won’t require another plastic or paper bag.