Natural Environment Blog

As much as I go on about the importance of using reusable bags, I understand that it’s not always as easy as it sounds to get started. Plastic bags can be a hard habit to break as suggested in this article from the Contra Costa Times:

Like many consumers, Morton wants to do the right thing and stop taking disposable bags home from grocery stores, but she has not made a habit of using reusable bags.

When I look back on my own transition from plastic bags to reusable bags, I remember how I constantly forgot to take my reusable bags! And, as Judith Morton says in the above article:

“…and here I am in a store shopping without my own (reusable) bag.”

You wouldn’t believe how furious I was with myself each time I turned up to the supermarket checkout, only to realize that I’d forgotten to bring my reusable bags. When you’ve never been in the habit of taking bags grocery shopping with you, it’s so easy to forget them. You only remember once you’ve selected your groceries and you arrive at the checkout.

At first, I would just buy another reusable bag at the supermarket (fortunately, reusable bags are sold in the supermarkets in Australia). But then it got to the stage where I’d bought so many reusable bags I knew I had to do something different - I had to remember to take my reusable bags with me in the first place!

This was easier said than done, but eventually, I managed to completely break the plastic bag habit completely. Now, I can’t remember the last time I turned up at the supermarket without my reusable bags.

Here are some of the things I tried in order to remind myself to take my reusable bags to the supermarket:

• I’d keep my reusable bags in the car. This is because, I would often do my grocery shopping on the way home from work (and I used to drive to the train station). Once I parked at the shopping center, I would see my green bags in the car and think “ah, I must take them with me!”
• One problem I found is that, after I’d brought my groceries inside, I would often forget to return my shopping bags to the car! Then, the next time would go shopping I’d forget my bags again - doh! I dealt with this by placing my reusable bags near my front door. Then, the next time I was heading to the car, I would see my reusable bags and take them to the car with me.
• Now, I work from home, and I cycle most places I need to go. So, what I do now is keep a reusable bag in my backpack. This is because I usually take my backpack with me whenever I ride my bike. Usually, I can fit all groceries straight into the backpack. If I buy more than a bagful of groceries, I’ll split it between my backpack and reusable grocery bag.

Once I started doing these, I rarely forgot to take my reusable bags shopping with me. As I said, I can’t remember the last time I had to use plastic bags from the supermarket.

So, if you’re trying to break the plastic bag habit, but have the same problem I had, try keeping them in your car, backpack, or other place that will help jog your memory. I’m sure you’ll be happy with the results.

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.

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.